


Furius Draconis I

by scars_across_the_sky



Series: Path of the Damned [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Death Eaters, F/M, First War with Voldemort, Gay Remus Lupin, Knights of Walpurgis, Lily plays Quidditch, Person of Color James Potter, Severus Snape & Remus Lupin Friendship, Surprisingly no character bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-11-14 23:11:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11218200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scars_across_the_sky/pseuds/scars_across_the_sky
Summary: Severus Snape would doanythingfor those he calls friend. Anything.He'd lie for them, cheat, steal. Give them the shirt off his back, if they asked. Risk his life for them without a second thought, for what's a bruise or a brush with death to him in comparison to his bright, precious friends?He'd bring the world to its knees, for his friends. Destroy his soul committing unspeakable horrors to rise in the ranks of the Dark Lord to protect them, if that's what they needed.Many will find out the hard way, justhow farSeverus Snape is willing to go, for the sake of his friends.





	1. Chapter 1

At the age of seventeen, Severus Snape was hardened against the world. He expected the worst of everyone and more often than not he wasn't disappointed. In the past, he had had heart and bone broken time and time again - usually by the same people in his life. He had lacked the self-respect to disassociate himself from them, however, that was no longer the case. One Narcissa Black helped him see his worth, and he'd be damned if anyone tried to take that from him.

"Severus," his mother called from the kitchen, he could hear her rummaging around in the fridge. She stuck her head around the corner and he merely flicked his eyes up at her in response. "We're out of milk."

With a short sigh, Severus was out the door, forgoing a jacket as it was summer and he no longer cared to hide the bruises his father left on him. He had lost the first person who cared to look a little over a year earlier. His mind shifted to the red head beauty that had once been his friend, who he had been thinking less and less of as time went on. He had thought that situation to death and he no longer felt the pain he did when the wound was fresh.

He walked into the corner store, hands in his pockets, and a blank stare on his face. A nearby clerk got one look at his long greasy hair, torn shirt and bruised arms then quickly looked away which caused Severus to have the slightest of smirks. He found enjoyment in causing others to feel uncomfortable by his presence.

With milk in hand Severus left the store, shooting a small confundus at the clerk to make him think that the milk was paid for – they had no money, this is how they'd been getting their food for the past four months. His father Tobias had lost his job while Severus was still at Hogwarts and it didn't take long for him to piss all their savings away at the pub, he had been forced sober because of it. He was too prideful to ask his wife or his son to steal liquor for him, and even if he did they wouldn't provide it. This was the most peace they've had since Severus was a small child. Tobias still had outbursts occasionally, which his son took the brunt of in place of his mother. Eileen was ailing and Severus was the only one who seemed to notice, so with what was left of his good conscious, he stood up for his mother.

As he neared his home, the wind picked up and on it there was a taste… a taste of Dark Magic.

Swearing, Severus dropped the milk and took off in a dead sprint, wand in hand, fearing for his mother. His old friend Lucius Malfoy, who was notorious among a select group for using the Dark Arts, had been trying to recruit him to join him and follow a man, one who would apparently make a difference in the world. Severus didn't care to change the world.

He burst into his house, only to find his mother and Malfoy chatting amiably and sipping tea in the den. "Severus," his mother greeted, rising from her seat to walk over to him. "Did you get the milk?"

Slightly out of breath, he half nodded, "Yes," his quiet and deep voice easily carrying over to her. "I'll put it up." His dark eyes searching her for signs of Dark Magic working on her intensely.

"Nonsense, I will. Go and socialize," she held out a hand for the milk, which was currently lying in the street about seventy meters from their house.

Severus looked at her a moment longer before he turned and swept his penetrating gaze across his neighborhood through the still open door, seeing no one, he summoned the milk and then handed it to his mother with a tight-lipped smile. It was dented, but otherwise intact. She took it without a question and he then guardedly walked into the den, regaining his composure.

"My apologies for stopping by without sending word first," Malfoy said as he rose to shake Severus's hand.

"It's alright," the gangly teen said, accepting the offered hand warily. He was going to wait for the Pureblood to explain why he was there.

Malfoy took a seat and motioned for Severus to do the same. "I have extended an invitation on several occasions for you to join this cause I am part of, and each time you have told me that you must think about it." Severus merely stared at him, "This shall be the last time I offer you a place in our ranks."

"Why are you so keen on my joining, Malfoy?" Severus asked, eyes narrowed. "What could a lowly Half-Blood possibly do that a Pureblood could not do better?"

"Severus," Malfoy said, a condescending smile on his face. "Do shut up. You _know_ that no one can hold a candle to your potion brewing skills."

 _"Lucius Malfoy, Lord Pureblood himself, complementing me of all people… he **really** wants me to join,"_ Severus thought, causing a trickle of icy fear to go down his spine. He said aloud, "You know there would be… protests against my presence within this group. Brewing skills or no, I am not prestigious by any definition."

"No," Malfoy conceded after a moment, casting an ill-concealed look of disgust around the drab den. "You are not. But that matters not, Severus. You have achieved some of the highest OWL Scores Hogwarts has seen and due to that – among other things – you have been determined an invaluable asset to our cause." He smirked and added, "Prestigious in your own way, if you will."

Severus remained silent as his mother walked back in, a faint smile on her face, "Lord Malfoy, I am certain Severus would be more than happy to accept your offer to join your organization."

Malfoy nodded to her, "I am glad to hear it. However, the final decision remains with Severus. We only want those who are fully committed."

Both Purebloods looked to the teen now, his mother more intensely than the former Slytherin Prefect. Severus stared back impassively, his icy fear growing; he didn't want this life. He hesitated a moment before saying with a note of weariness, "I shall send word of my decision before the night is over, I believe mother and I have a few matters to discuss before I can submit a wholehearted answer."

Malfoy inclined his head, smirking triumphantly, "I shall eagerly await your response, Severus." He rose and offered his farewells and then showed himself out.

As soon as Severus heard his Disapparition crack a tension left his shoulders and he turned to his mother, asking urgently, "Did he hurt you?"

She laughed, "No Severus, why in Merlin's name would he hurt me?"

"He's done it in the past," Severus pushed. "I sensed Dark Magic on my way home as well."

She stood and picked up the cup Malfoy left behind and asked, "Is that why the milk was out in the road?"

"Yes," he answered shortly, rising to follow her to the kitchen. "What did he do, mother?"

Eileen turned to look at him, concern evident on his face, "He didn't do anything, Severus." The concern shifted to confusion, and she elaborated, "Lord Malfoy was not the source of the Dark Magic you felt."

"Who then?" he asked as she took the cups to the sink and flicked her wand at them to clean them. He paused. His mother _never_ used magic. His father hated it and forbade her from using it.

It then clicked into place for Severus. He breathed, "It was you. You did it."

"Yes," she said, meeting his eyes proudly.

"Where is he?" Severus asked grimly, hoping she had done the sensible thing and transfigured the body before burning it.

"Where he belongs," Eileen answered with finality evident in her voice. Severus closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh, running a hand through his hair – he now had one less tormentor in his life. "You no longer have to worry about me, Severus, you may join the organization Lord Malfoy represents without fearing for my wellbeing when you leave."

"That is not my only reservation for joining, mother, although I am grateful you finally rid yourself of that man," Severus spat, crossing his arms over his chest. His mother merely looked at him, forcing him to elaborate, "I take it Malfoy did not tell you the name of the organization?"

"No," Eileen answered. "He did not need to, I know he was speaking of the self-proclaimed Knights of Walpurgis."

He faltered slightly, "You have heard of the rumors surrounding this group then?"

"Of course," She answered flippantly before growing serious once more, "I have always told you to do whatever you can to better yourself, my son. You will find no better ally than Lord Malfoy – he is the path to a better life, Severus." There was a glint in her eyes that he didn't much care for.

"But at what cost?" Severus asked softly, the fear from earlier making another appearance.

"Cost?" She scoffed, "My dear boy, there is no cost! I've failed you if you think there's a _cost_." Eileen shook her head, "You will reply to Lord Malfoy and accept his offer-"

"Mother, it's murder!" Severus interrupted.

"You care for Muggles then? For Mudbloods?" She asked, suddenly cold. "The only Muggle you've known has beaten you since you were old enough to walk, and the only Mudblood you've known betrayed you."

He barely managed to suppress a flinch at her words. Letting out an even breath, he answered, "I _don't_ care for them."

Eileen smiled slightly and explained, "They aren't… _people_ , Severus. They are vermin unfit to walk among us, unfit to breathe the same air, to go to school with our children! It _isn't_ murder!"

Severus just stared at his mother, he wasn't shocked, not entirely. He knew all along how she felt about his father, and how she felt about Evans. It was, however, startling to hear his mother talk like that. "You will excuse me for not sharing your exact beliefs, as I am half _vermin_."

"And they are willing to look past that," she shot back without hesitation, walking towards him to frame his face with her hands. "You will never receive a better offer than this Severus, I am shocked that you turned it down so many times."

He let his eyes flutter close in surrender and leaned into her frail hands, "You are right, mother… you are always right."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are 6 chapters of this posted on FanFiction.net

As it turns out, Severus was not the only one who noticed the acidic taint of Dark Magic on the air. Lily Evans was sitting at her desk writing a letter to her friend and fellow Gryffindor, Alice Storgarth, when the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She broke out in a cold sweat and her pen fell from her hand, making an awful racket to her heightened senses. Her head snapped up and she was easily able to pinpoint where the exceedingly Dark spell had been cast - Spinner's End.

"Severus…" the name fell from her lips, heavy with terror and regret. She abandoned her letter and knocked over her chair as she tore down the stairs, not stopping when her family shouted after her. Her heart was gripped by fear, fear for her old best friend. She knew without a doubt someone had just cast an Unforgivable at his house. She was one of the few in the world who'd actually maintained the ability to see and sense all forms of magic in her immediate vicinity. All had been born with it, but hardly anyone kept it as they grew and matured.

She burst out of her house, not stopping to shut the door behind her. The pounding of her feet on the pavement was nearly matched by the pounding of her heart. She _knew_ he was mixed with the wrong sort; his magic, once a lovely shade of lilac (incidentally her favorite color), had grown darker with each passing year, and that could only lead to disaster for him. _"And now it has,"_ she thought as she flew down the sidewalk.

His descent to darkness had frightened her to the point where she was glad to have a reason to end their friendship. The Slytherins had been feeding him their poisonous propaganda since he'd been sorted there, and they had slowly but surely gotten through to him. The sweet, awkward boy she'd known since they were nine years old was well on his way to becoming something... monstrous.

 _"What if they... killed him because he turned his back on them?"_ She wondered wildly, a strange mixture of hope and wretchedness blossomed in her chest, only to have it drowned in the waves of fear that came crashing with her next thought: _"Or maybe they welcome new blood into the fold with a bout of the Cruciatus."_ She certainly wouldn't put that past them. Regardless of what happened, any of the three Unforgivables on Severus wasn't good - they were _unforgivable_ for a reason.

Her mind was going crazy with scenarios, each worse than the last as she ran to his house. Flashes of Severus lying stiff with glazed over eyes, or screaming and writhing in pain pushed Lily to run faster. She ignored the growing stitch she had in her side as well as the looks she was gathering from the few people who were out and about that hot day. She only slowed when she rounded the last corner and saw Severus standing in the middle of his street. Not dead. Not in pain.

Lily let out a shaky sigh of relief at the sight of his tall frame, _"He's okay; he isn't hurt."_ She was rather loathe to admit it, but she had missed his quiet friendship over the past two years more than she thought she would. Missed his snarky quips about anything and everything, as well as his intelligence. He was the only one who could keep up with her and vice versa – they had been fighting for the top spot in academics since the first day of classes. Lily was brought out of her thoughts at the sound of the milk carton hitting the pavement, she watched as Severus took off in a dead sprint towards his house and being the Gryffindor that she was, Lily followed.

She stopped and darted behind his neighbor's car, from there she watched as he burst into his home with a ferocity she had only seen him use against James and Sirius. She realized with a twinge of guilt that this was him displaying his worry for his mother – she was all he had left, of course he was going to do everything in his power to protect her. Lily had meant that much to him at one point, if not more. Severus would have never let anything happen to her; he would have died to keep her safe.

With that realization, her bitter belief that Severus was no better than his malicious, dark friends shattered. "Oh Sev," Lily whispered, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her. However, even though he would never intentionally hurt her, his passion for the Dark Arts undoubtedly would result in harm befalling her one day. He was treading a slippery slope, one wrong step and he'd go crashing down. She didn't want to know what the consequences would be if that day ever came. As long as he was obsessed with Dark Magic, Lily didn't feel safe being in his life.

Severus popped his head back out and swept his steely gaze around his neighborhood before he stretched his arm out and summoned the milk with a non-verbal and wandless spell – just the fact that he performed a controlled wandless spell was impressive, but the two combined was almost unheard of. He disappeared back into his house, shutting the door behind him. She slumped down against the side of the dull silver sedan and closed her eyes, breathing deeply through her nose. Just who in the hell was responsible for that Unforgiveable? She didn't think it had been Severus, they were too obtrusive for him, too simple as well. He was a complicated man, who enjoyed complicated things, especially complicated magic. So that left his mother, which was also unlikely; she had rarely ever felt someone performing magic in this area, and it all had been after Severus turned seventeen. Mr. Snape didn't seem like the type to allow magic anyways.

Lily realized with a start that there must be someone else in the Snape house. Her eyes flew open and she absolutely itched to sneak over to the window that looked into his sitting room, but she figured she was pushing her luck being as close as she was. She would just wait for the mystery person to leave to see who it was, and she didn't have to wait long. She heard a door being opened and with a quick look over the bonnet of the car she saw none other than Lucius Malfoy stepping out of Severus's home. Lily stared wide-eyed at him as he looked at his surroundings with contempt before he Disapparated.

He had to have been the one to cast the Unforgiveable. _"I've got to tell the Headmaster,"_ she thought as she stood and prepared to go home – this certainly had been one hell of an afternoon. As she left her hiding place and walked with her head bowed and her hands shoved deep in her pockets another thought struck her; Mr. Snape wouldn't have allowed Malfoy into his home. Severus had never let her over because of his father, so how had a Pureblood who _abhorred_ Muggles manage to gain entry to the Snape home?

The answer hit her a split second later. Malfoy must have killed Mr. Snape, with the Killing Curse. The only way that man would have let another magical being into his home was over his dead body. Lily was vaguely aware of her legs crumbling beneath her at the shock of it. Her hand shot out, grasping at the house nearest her to ease her descent. One hell of an afternoon indeed.

She leaned her head back against the wall and took ragged breaths through her nose, trying to calm herself down. Mr. Snape had not been a nice man, he had abused Severus for Merlin knows how long… it was still hard for her to think of him dying. It was hard for her to think of anyone dying, she was much too soft in that aspect. She was naïve in her thinking that everyone deserved the chance to live; there were some people in the world who simply did not deserve their next breath.

Lily pulled herself from her thoughts with a shake of her head. She stood, and as she was about to leave, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

It was Severus. She didn't dare breathe; he was on the other side of the street, all he had to do was look to his left and he'd see her standing there like a deer in the headlights. He was leaning with his back against the house, his head tilted down with his hair hanging in curtains around his face, shielding it from view. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, purple and blue bruises stood out harshly on his pale skin. Lily took all of this in, concern swelling in her chest, _"Oh Severus…"_

"Are you just going to stand there and stare, or are you going to speak to me?" He drawled looking up at her with glinting black eyes. They held an intense staring contest for a good thirty seconds before he broke away, pulling a small box out of his pocket. Lily instantly recognized it as a cigarette carton – since when did he smoke?

"I – what?" She couldn't form a proper sentence, or even think properly for that matter. Her mind was a jumbled mess in lieu of all she had been through in the past fifteen minutes.

He let out a sigh as he pulled a cigarette from his package and placed it between his lips and then snapped his fingers causing a small flame to jump to life and float just above his thumb. He used to light his cig, "You're just going to stare then."

"No," Lily said dumbly, as she continued to stare at him.

He fixed her with a dangerous look, eyes hard, "Go home, Evans. Forget whatever it is that you think is going on here." And with that he pushed off of the wall and walked the other way, leaving her nothing else to do but follow him.

She ran to catch up to him, deciding to play dumb, "What happened, Se-Snape?"

He glared at her while taking a drag from his cigarette, she never did listen to him when there was mystery involved. He growled while blowing out smoke, "Nothing. Now leave me be before something happens to you."

His threat didn't faze her, "Oh come off it, I _know_ something happened. Don't insult my intelligence by denying that." Severus didn't say anything, he just kept walking occasionally removing his cigarette from his lips to blow out smoke. He didn't acknowledge her, which was slightly irking, but then again he always did opt for silence when presented with something he didn't want to talk about. "When did you pick up smoking?"

"Does it matter?" He all but snarled, suddenly resembling a cornered feral animal. He had too much to think about just then and Evans was now a thorn in his side. Why was she talking to him _now_ , of all times?

"No," Lily said slowly, "Just trying to make conversation."

Severus stopped walking and rounded on her; he couldn't take this anymore. He had always had an unnerving control over his emotions, and she could see his ironclad hold weakening, "For fucks sake, go home Evans, leave me alone like you have for the past year."

"I will when you tell me what happened," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest while looking at him triumphantly. This had always worked in the past.

Severus flexed his hand, making his wand drop down into his hand from his wand holster Lily just now noticed. He didn't make a move towards her, but with the way his eyes flashed coupled with the way his magic flared – threatening and dark – made her genuinely worry for her safety. His voice dipped to an icy whisper, "Nothing happened, Evans. The summer heat got to you and you imagined things. What those things are, I couldn't say. Now kindly bugger off and leave me the hell alone." With that he stalked off, smoke billowing up occasionally.

This was not the Severus Lily remembered.

**{Path of the Damned}**

The next day Severus awoke to an owl tapping at his window. He sat up and stared blearily at it, looked over at his clock and back at it again this time with a glare. It was one in the sodding morning. Throwing his covers off as the owl tapped again, Severus stood and walked over to the window to let the persistent mass of feathers in. It hooted gratefully and swooped in and sat on the back of his chair, sticking out its leg for him to take the letter that was attached to it. He took it without paying much attention to the bird and opened the letter that was, apparently, important enough to wake him up in the middle of the night.

_Severus,_

_Your presence is required at Malfoy Manor at your earliest convenience. I do not think I need to remind you to wear your best robes._

_Lord Lucius Malfoy_

Rolling his eyes, Severus tossed the letter down onto his bed and walked over to his chest to find his best robes which happened to not be very good at all. Obviously what Malfoy meant by "earliest convenience" was that very moment or else he would have waited until at least the sun was above the horizon to summon him. Why, he of all people, was needed at one in the morning was beyond him. But as of last night he belonged to the Knights of Walpurgis – he no longer had a say in how he lived his life.

With that thought in mind, Severus quickly and quietly went downstairs to Floo to Malfoy Manor, not bothering to leave his mother a note. She was smart enough to figure out where he went. He lit the fire with a nonverbal Incendio and then threw a pinch of Floo powder in and allowed the magical green flames to sweep him away to the Pureblood's manor.

He stumbled out into a dimly lit room, and was met by several wands shoved in his face. Looking up, Severus could see that they were all masked. One of them said gruffly, "State your name and business."

"I am Severus Snape, I was asked here by Lord Malfoy," Severus said devoid of emotion, keeping his hands still and in plain sight.

The wands were immediately lowered, much to Severus's surprise, "Come. You're expected." Severus was quick to follow and keep his mouth shut. He was in with a dangerous group of people who didn't always need a reason to shoot off a curse – he wasn't about to give them a reason to hex him by talking out of turn. His blood status was reason enough.

Sure enough, before he could even leave the room, a stinging hex was shot at him, hitting him in the face. He staggered backwards slightly, a hand going up to cradle his now swelling face. There was a chorus of cackling and Severus knew better than to do anything in retaliation. This was an everyday event for him in the Slytherin Common Room.

It wasn't long before the masked Knight stopped at a room and knocked on the door, with slight trepidation Severus noted. A voice sounded from within, "Enter." The door opened and the Knight shoved Severus in, shutting the door behind him. It was dark in the room, just like the rest of the manor had been. The only light source came from the fireplace, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

"Severus," the same voice said as the owner of it rose from a chair; he couldn't make out any facial features and quite honestly had no idea what was going on. "I apologize for waking you so early. However, it came to my attention that I had run out of an important potion. Rather than buying it from a trusted source, I decided to test your abilities."

Realization of who he was in the room with hit Severus like a ton of bricks; he didn't know what to do. He dropped – rather painfully – to a knee in a low bow, eliciting a chuckle from Lord Voldemort. "You seem surprised to see me, young Severus. Did Lucius not mention it was for me that you were coming here for?"

"Ah, no," Severus said, keeping his head down, before he hastily added, "My lord." His body involuntarily tensed in preparation for the hex the Dark Lord would undoubtedly send his way, _"Idiot! You moronic idiot!"_

This caused the Dark Lord to chuckle again, "Rise, Severus, and worry not. I shan't punish you for improper etiquette as this is your first time meeting me in person."

Severus scrambled to an upright position, but kept his head respectfully bowed, "Thank you, my lord, you are most gracious."

"You have permission to look at me as well, young Severus," he didn't think it possible for a person to sound more amused than Voldemort did just then. He also didn't think it was possible for him to screw up his first meeting with his lord any more than he already had.

Severus looked up and his breath caught in his throat. This... is not what he was expecting the Dark Lord to look like. A sinfully handsome man stood before him, a charming smile that didn't quite cover the electric danger that practically _hummed_ from just under his skin was resting easily on his face. The dark eyes were raking over Severus, making him feel oddly exposed. He was unable to help his tongue flicking out to nervously lick his lips, which brought the Dark Lord's attention to his face.

The transformation in the Dark Lord was instantaneous, going from charming and welcoming to threatening and foreboding, making Severus's heartbeat dip and then speed up. Voldemort reached out and grabbed his youngest recruit's face with a strong grip, tilting it this way and that to get a better look at it. He asked coldly, "Does your face always look this way, Severus?"

Severus was at a complete loss for words. Was this concern for him? Or was this anger at him for having the audacity to show up with a face scorched by a Stinging Hex? How did he answer? Lying was out of the question as he wasn't suicidal, but ratting someone out on his very first night in the Dark Lord's service didn't seem like the best option either. "Um, no, my lord, it doesn't – not usually. But, it is of no concern – I am a half-blood, I have grown to expect this."

Rage flooded Lord Voldemort's face, his magic flared out, causing the temperature of the room to spike. He maintained his hold on his chin, the grip becoming brutal. Severus was certain he would end up dead either from the acrobatic feats his heart was executing or by the Dark Lord's hand, "You are one of my chosen," he hissed. "They should know better than to mark you so. You will point out who did this to you, Severus and they shall pay."

Severus just blinked at him in shock. One of his chosen? What did that mean? "It – uh – isn't necessary, my lord. I have dealt with worse."

With a snarl, Voldemort forcefully released Severus's face and began to pace, his magic now a heavy, thrumming presence in the room. The teen was certain that if he weren't so accustomed to Dark Magic that he'd be struggling to breathe. "I will not punish you for questioning me as, again, it is your first time in my presence and you are unfamiliar with how I am to be addressed." Voldemort stated harshly, his eyes glinting angrily. He then hissed in warning, "You will do well to never do so again." He came to a halt and glared the younger into submission before reiterating his earlier order, "You will point out who did this to you, and they shall feel my wrath."

Severus was completely out of his element.

"I-I do not know who hexed me, my lord, the room was dark and they all were wearing masks…" he trailed off, unsure of what would happen next.

Suddenly, the Dark Lord reigned in his magic, causing Severus to stumble forward slightly and he threw the door open with a resounding bang, sweeping from the room. Severus followed, bewildered and more than a little afraid. Why did things have to be complicated? Damn his mother to hell for forcing him into this. It wasn't long before they ended up back in the room that Severus had arrived in first and just a few seconds later a small group of people walked in holding their heads high. They didn't dare to look down on Severus in disdain as they normally would as the Dark Lord was standing next to him.

"Which of you did this to Severus's face? Don't be shy now," Voldemort said, his voice deceptively calm while placing an arm around Severus's shoulders, bringing him in closer. It was with that act that the Dark Lord's Knights knew they had made a grievous mistake. No one was brave enough to step forward, especially not the one who cast the hex, and Severus was more confused than ever. Why was the Dark Lord making such a big deal out of this?

"Am I to take it that Severus did this to himself then?" Voldemort snapped, growing impatient, removing his arm from Severus to pace in front of his Knights. "I'm sure your memories will prove this to be true, as none of my loyal followers would _dare_ ignore a direct question from me..." That got them sweating, and before any of them could step forward in confession, Voldemort began launching a vicious mental assault on them one by one. He went down the line, the Knights pale and shaking once he was through with raping their minds. It wasn't until he got to the fourth Knight standing in line that he got an answer to his earlier question.

"Lestrange," he snarled, his eyes flashing. The man fell to his knees, cowering before his ruthless lord. He glared at the rest of his Knights and hissed, "Leave." They were quick to obey the order before Voldemort could change his mind. As soon as the door was shut, the Dark Lord sneered his favorite curse – Crucio – and watched with a gleam of amusement as the head of the Lestrange family writhed and screamed at his feet.

Severus was at a loss. And understandably so, a man was being tortured on his behalf for something he dealt with on a daily basis at Hogwarts. A moment later the screaming ceased, and the Dark Lord spoke, "I trust you shall never raise your wand to Severus again, my old friend."

"N-never again, my lord" the man rasped, rolling back onto his knees.

"And you shall make sure your boys will heed this order as well, will you not?" Voldemort pressed, he had seen in the man's mind how his twin sons had bragged of tormenting Severus on occasion. All with less than pure blood in Slytherin suffered, but Severus more so as a group of Gryffindors continuously bested him. They thought him weak for it but Voldemort knew he had to be hiding abilities - there was no way those blood-traitors could best him with the OWL scores he had. Severus scored higher than he had! He would be getting to the bottom of this, one way or another.

The man's head snapped up, fear plain on his face, "Of course, my lord. Thank you, my lord."

"I am not finished with you yet, Llewellyn," Voldemort growled. "You should have known better than to harm a guest of mine – Crucio!"

Severus could do nothing but watch in mute horror from behind an impassive mask, _"Mother, what have you gotten me into?"_


	3. Chapter 3

"Severus…? Severus, are you awake?" a silvery voice floated into Severus's bedroom at Malfoy Manor, pulling him from his work. Looking at the clock on his desk, he guessed that he had been working for nearly three hours now. After seeing firsthand just how good Severus was at brewing, the Dark Lord wanted a whole slew of new potions, ranging from improved healing potions to… "inventive poisons" as he put it.

Severus replied by opening the door with a lazy wave of his wand, giving the owner of the voice a pointed glare as they walked in. "Why are you visiting me at this late hour, Miss Black?"

"Lovely to see you too, Severus," she quipped back, a slight smirk gracing her lips. "You've been here for three days now and not once graced me with your presence. What sort of friend does that make you?"

"One that has been rather busy," Severus answered, his deep rumbling voice washing over her. They locked eyes for a brief moment before he returned his attention to the papers strewn across his desk. As an afterthought, he gestured to the armchairs by the fireplace with a careless hand and said, "Sit, if you must."

Anyone else would have been affronted by his less than polite attitude, but Narcissa Black was used to it. She and Severus had been Prefects together since Fifth Year and they became close after his falling out with the Mudblood Evans. In fact, it was the falling out that led to their friendship - genuine friendship, which was rather uncommon amongst Slytherins. Seeing him walk into the common room vulnerable as a Flitterby had moved something in her, made her icy heart stir. She was still unsure of what it was exactly that prompted her to follow him up to his dorm to offer comfort with no ulterior motives in mind.

She pieced him back together in a way some might call lovingly. She had been patient with him and his volatile temper because she knew he was hurting deeply and wanted to lick his wounds in solitude. She had, however, been relentless in caring for him, especially after she saw the multitude of scars on his wrists. Her heart tugged painfully at the thought of what he might've done had she left him alone the way he so viciously demanded at first.

She waited quietly while he finished whatever it was that he was doing, knowing full well he wouldn't speak until he was done. That had been irksome at the beginning of their Fifth Year, as he was nothing more than a lowly Half-Blood and she a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. But as the year progressed she came to see that he was anything but lowly. Many wondered how it was that he was top of their year as he seemed to shine in just Potions and regularly got his ass kicked by the idiotic boys who called themselves the Marauders. Spending as much time with him as she did, she came to realize that he put up that front to divert everyone's attention from how powerful he actually was.

He was terrifyingly smart - truly a wealth of knowledge - and when it was just the two of them he relaxed his walls and absolutely _radiated_ power. Without meaning to. It was... intoxicating to say the least. Narcissa would bet her dowry that he could take anyone in a formal duel - probably within the first ten seconds too. He created his own spells in secret when others were struggling to master the ones they were being taught. He had shown her a few of them, confessing that he hadn't even shared them with the Mudblood, which strangely made Narcissa's heart flutter. He scribbled notes in the margins of his Potion's text only when no one was paying attention to him (none ever did) that improved their standard potions in a way she would have never thought of in a million years. He knew more of the Dark Arts than anyone she had ever encountered and had an astounding control over them.

Severus was a proud individual, and he had every reason to be. He hadn't been at first, but Narcissa wasn't having it. She had refused to speak to him until he took pride in his abilities – it had taken him a week. Despite this, despite her _finally_ making him see his own self-worth, he still kept to the shadows. She didn't understand it. He never retaliated when attacked, and never said a word unless spoken to.

Power was everything in Slytherin, and for Severus to not pursue it left her baffled. She knew without a doubt he could have the entirety of Slytherin House on their knees if he wanted it. But he didn't. There _were_ advantages to hiding one's true powers - nearly everyone in Slytherin did, but none to the extent of her friend. There was no advantage that she could see in him keeping his head down.

It wasn't long before he finally put his quill away and placed all of his parchment neatly in a pile. He took his time in doing so when a simple spell would have done it in less than a second to thoroughly empty his mind of all thoughts and emotions. Narcissa was now the fiancée of one Lucius Malfoy, he couldn't be certain why she was there. To spy on him, or there as his friend? Whatever the reason, he wasn't about to let his emotions ruin his chances of survival in this war that he had now been involved in for a whopping four days.

Severus stood and stalked over to the armchair adjacent to the one Narcissa was in. He asked again, "Why are you visiting my rooms at this late hour?"

She rolled her eyes as he sat down stiffly in the armchair next to the one she was curled up in. She could tell he was Occluding, much to her annoyance, "You know you don't have to employ Occlumency around me, Severus. Mind magic is one of the few things I don't excel in - I couldn't read your mind even if I wanted to."

He arched an eyebrow at her, "You can't _read_ a mind, it is not a book to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing... it is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. But you cannot _read_ a mind."* His voice turned velvety as it usually did when he spoke about one of his passions.

"I didn't ask for a lecture, Professor Snape," Narcissa said, her eyes dancing with mischief.

He fixed her with a look, "I would take a run-in with a nundu - _without my wand -_ over becoming a teacher."

Narcissa let out a lilting laugh at that, "My, my, I had no idea you felt so _strongly_ about that... Professor Snape." She collapsed into a fit of giggles at the withering glare he sent her way.

"You are insufferable," he groused, albeit somewhat fondly.

"I'm the youngest of three, of course I'm insufferable," she retorted smugly. "Now do me a favor and stop with that Occlumency nonsense. You know how I hate not being able to know what you're thinking," she demanded, a playful smile on her lips.

It was his turn to roll his eyes at her, "Very well." Much like with Lily, Severus found himself unable to deny Narcissa what she wanted. He slowly allowed his mind to resume what others would deem natural activity. He despised the noise of it after years of unconsciously Occluding to some extent. His own thoughts annoyed him.

"Much better," she soothed when she saw his entire body relax. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"I will have a splitting headache later," he shot back, his deep voice lacking its usual bite.

A short laugh escaped her lips, "There's my Severus! Grumpy as ever!"

He fixed her with a droll look, choosing to not comment on her teasing. He then asked for a third time, "Why are you here, Narcissa?"

She smiled pleasantly at him while reaching to grab his hand. After staring at her outstretched hand for a moment, he took it and she answered softly, "I've missed our talks."

He studied their joined hands, and then lifted his gaze to her face, determining just how truthful that statement was before he confessed in a whisper, "I have too."

The smile on her face brightened and she gave his hand a squeeze before releasing it, "Good. I do hope you aren't supposed to do anything important tomorrow."

"And why might that be, Narcissa?" Severus asked somewhat cautiously.

"I plan on being selfish by keeping you up all night. It feels like it's been _years_ since we've actually spoken," she said with no small amount of melodrama. She knew how to push him to get what she wanted.

He wasn't oblivious to what she was trying to do, and he would let her do it, like he always did. He would, however, make her work a little harder for it, "It's hardly proper for you to spend the entire night in my room, Narcissa. You are, after all, engaged to Malfoy."

She gave him her best pouting face, "It isn't like anyone knows I'm here, Severus. And I have yet to be caught going back to my dorm at Hogwarts. It won't be any different here."

"You were nearly caught more often than not," he pointed out in a helpful tone, smirking.

She glowered at him, "Because you're an awful look out."

He shrugged and said, "I cannot see through walls. How was I to know your cousin was around the corner? However, if it is your wish to waste your night speaking to me, I won't stop you. I'll merely place all the blame on you if you get caught sneaking back to your room in the morning."

The pleasant smile was back, "You couldn't stop me if you tried, my dear Severus."

"I'm well aware of that," he snorted.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence when a sudden wave of curiosity overtook Narcissa, and before she could stop herself she voiced the root of her curiosity, "Severus, there is something that I have been wondering for a while now…" he arched his eyebrow in a silent question so she continued, "You could have fooled us all. Told us you were from some unknown Pureblooded family, we would've been none the wiser. Why _didn't_ you?"

He snorted again. "And spend my entire life lying? No thank you. Never mind the fact I was an idiot at eleven - I couldn't have come up with that complex of a lie if I wanted to."

"I would rather lie about who I was than be seen as half human. You do know that's all these people see you as, Severus." There was no malice in her voice, instead there was something that sounded akin to concern.

"I know how they view me Narcissa, but that will change in time. Just as how you saw me changed."

She merely inclined her head at that. It was true, she no longer saw him as half human as she did before they actually became friends. She had long viewed him as her equal, and that realization was somewhat shocking for her. Initially, she had thought him to merely be above the other half-bloods in the school, but her _equal_? When had she stopped seeing him for his blood status and started seeing him for him and all his talents? And why wasn't she more disturbed by this?

**{Path of the Damned}**

Unfortunately for Severus, he did have important things to do the next day. Narcissa was a dear friend, though, and he would do anything for her, including forgoing a night of sleep before a prearranged meeting with the Dark Lord. Severus was making his way to said meeting, a bottomless cup of coffee in his hand. He only had a sliver of an idea about what the Dark Lord could want with him now.

Severus reached the private rooms of Lord Voldemort and raised a hand to knock on the door as he took a sip from his coffee. He waited just a moment before a voice from within called for him to enter, and he did so without any hesitation. As he turned to shut the door, the hair on this back of his neck stood on end. Time slowed as it only did when the Marauders were closing in on him - the energy in the room compressed to a singular point before exploding violently outward, screeching black and purple flames of magic. He barely had time to call his wand to his hand to slam up a shield before he was burned and mutilated beyond recognition.

_Merlin,_ what had he done? His mind flashed back to last night before dismissing it as he tossed his coffee mug aside. His mind needed to be on this fight if he had any chance of surviving. The room was plunged into darkness causing Severus to immediately fall into a defensive crouch. Whatever this was about, he'd be damned if he went down without one hell of a fight.

The brief moment of stillness - the calm before a storm - stretched before the room was lit up sporadically in terrifying flashes with the spells the two wizards were ferociously throwing at each other. Severus maintained his shield while firing off the nastiest spells he knew, throwing some of his own creations into the mix as well. His attacker, who he knew to be the Dark Lord, didn't appear to be holding back either. More than once Severus recognized a torturous spell that whizzed past him that would have had him wishing for the Cruciatus instead.

They engaged in a deadly dance around the room, feral looks on their faces, snarling and sneering like cornered animals. The air sizzled with their magic and Severus felt himself draining but he didn't slow in his constant onslaught of dark spells, which were far more costly than light spells. He entertained no notions that he could hold out against the greatest Dark Lord in history for long, especially when he hardly seemed fazed despite the large amount of Dark Magic he'd been hurling Severus's way. He knew that sooner or later he would get hit by one of the spells; it was getting harder to dodge them - he no longer had the strength in him to block them - and he was wishing that he had gotten at least an hour or two of sleep.

The thunderous crashes of their spells missing their marks surely woke the whole manor. However, if it didn't, the way they shook the very foundation of the building would. Severus was in and out of his defensive crouch, rolling out of the way of the Dark Lord's spells that sizzled and crackled menacingly through the air, sweat dripping down his face and off his chin. With each passing moment, Severus realized that the next could be his last.

Suddenly, the room was flooded with light, and the Dark Lord purred, "Very good, Severus, very good." The older of the two put his wand away. But Severus didn't allow himself to relax just yet, keeping his eyes trained on Voldemort.

"My lord?" he asked, suspicion laced heavily into his deep voice.

The chuckle that slipped past Voldemort's lips grated on Severus's ears like nails on a chalkboard, "I know how you present yourself to your peers is a façade - there is no way you could achieve the scores you have if this were not so. I wanted to see just how extensive your cover was and I must say I am impressed, Severus. Not many can claim to have survived a one-on-one duel with me." He looked down at the student who was still tense, fingering his wand as if he were waiting for their duel to start again. "Tell me why you do this, Severus. Why do you allow the whole school to trod on you as if you were a common Mudblood."

Severus recognized that as an order rather than a question. "The headmaster favors the Gryffindors - there is nothing to be done there," he answered simply while slowly relaxing, drying his face with a swipe of his hand. "As for the rest of the school... I am a half-blooded Slytherin." Voldemort gave a slight nod, accepting that answer knowing how Slytherin House treated half-bloods and then how the other houses treated Slytherins. Severus continued, "I also thought it best for them to underestimate me, my lord. They will be easier to overtake in later years with that mindset."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed in thought. He hadn't thought about it like that before. It would indeed be best for not just those idiotic school children to underestimate them, but the whole world. He was rather shocked he hadn't thought of it before. "You are wise, Severus, a great asset to my legion."

_"Too wise,"_ Voldemort noted with a small spark of panic. He might have been a Slytherin, but he was not the most cunning. He gained followers because of his raw power and he simply knew what people wanted to hear. Severus was powerful as well - close to his own level - and it seemed as if the boy devoted much of his time to calculating odds, mapping out how events would unfold in his mind before ever making a decision. Voldemort needed a follower like that, an adviser. But that was also dangerous. One day that person might seek to overthrow him, and he could see Severus being capable of it. He would have to make the boy _think_ that he had everything he wanted. Yes, yes, that would work.

Severus, unaware of the Dark Lord's inner turmoil, bowed his head and murmured his thanks.

"I will teach you what I know," Voldemort said suddenly, a plan formulating in his mind. "You have potential to be the greatest duelist in history, Severus, I want to cultivate this in you."

Severus looked at the Dark Lord in surprise, his eyes alight. "I am flattered you think so highly of me, my lord. I look forward to learning from you."

A gruesome smile spread across Voldemort's handsome features, one that was uncomfortably out of place and caused shivers to go down Severus's spine. "Obviously I cannot achieve all that I want to with you before you are due back at Hogwarts, so you shall devote your Hogsmeade days to learning from me."

"Yes, my lord," Severus said, he never enjoyed going to Hogsmeade anyways, especially not now since he had no one to go with. His mind fluttered to a certain blonde haired blue eyed witch that he would have _liked_ to go with but he soon scrubbed all traces of her from his mind.

**{Path of the Damned}**

Severus returned to his home approximately a week after he had received a summons to Malfoy Manor unsure what to think about the path his life was now taking. He now had a proper Wizard's wardrobe and it all _fit_. He had the respect of the Knights of Walpurgis, only because the Dark Lord demanded it for him, but he had never been respected a day in his life. Fake or not, it was… nice.

But did he truly want the respect of murderers?

No. He didn't. But he had it and couldn't do a thing about it. In fact, they might _actually_ respect him once he also became a murderer; another thing he couldn't do anything about. So he might as well embrace it, he _had_ to if he wanted to survive.

These thoughts left his mind the moment he walked through the front door and saw his mother standing there with pride shining in her eyes. "Severus," she greeted him warmly. Before his little stay at Malfoy Manor, she looked as if a strong wind could blow her over, but now she exemplified strength. She was obviously still sickly, but ridding herself of his oaf of a father had gone a long way in helping her recover.

"Mother," he responded with a nod, closing the door behind him. "How have you been?"

She gave him a small smile, "Very well, very well. I found the letter on your bed - how was it?" a gleam entered her eyes that made Severus vaguely uncomfortable, but he brushed it off. He could no more change her zealous views than he could defy Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. She thought she had done him an enormous favor by forcing him to accept Malfoy's final invitation. He wasn't sure if she had or not.

"It was… good," he answered, walking further into their home to find she had made drastic changes in the time he was gone. It was clean for one, absolutely clean - no stains from shed blood or from spilled alcohol marred the floors or walls. And everything that had been broken had been repaired to its former glory. He looked to his mother again, and knew that she'd need a reassurance that she hadn't forced her son to sell his soul to the Devil, "The Dark Lord has taken a special interest in me – one of his 'chosen' as he put it. I am… untouchable."

Eileen could have wept at those words; the Dark Lord was offering her son what she had been unable to for so many years - _safety_. She abruptly said, "I see you've gotten new robes too, fitting for a man of your status." She brushed off his shoulders despite there being nothing there, growing silent.

Severus reached up and grabbed her wrists and offered her a smile before he gently removed them, now holding her hands in his. He vowed softly, "I will make you proud, mother."

Squeezing his hands, she replied, "You already have." She placed a kiss on his cheek as she could no longer reach his forehead, even raised up on her toes, and whispered, "My little Prince." She relinquished her hold on him and walked into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "Have you eaten?"

"Of course, Lord Malfoy wouldn't allow a guest to go home hungry," Severus answered lightly, taking another look around their home. "Besides, a house elf of his took a special liking to me, he brought me plenty to eat in his spare time of which he had an abundance."

His mother laughed at that, something Severus couldn't ever remember hearing, "Would you like a cup of tea then? I have a pot ready."

He walked through to the kitchen and immediately noticed that it was larger than it had been - the wonders of magic never ceased to amaze Severus. "Of course."

"Good, I want to hear all about your visit - everything," Eileen said as she poured them each a cup of tea and carried both mugs over to the kitchen table.

"Everything?" Severus asked while arching his eyebrow. There were some things he witnessed during his short stay in the Dark Lord's presence that he did not wish to share with his ailing mother. Such as the punishments doled out to those that disrespected him, or the nature of the potions he had been requested to brew.

"All that you are able to," she responded while she added sugar to both of their cups. He nodded his consent and began to tell her what had happened in as few words as possible as was his won't. With each quiet word that fell from his lips, the unsure feeling returned. He grew silent and withdrew into his mind to ponder the path his life was taking. He probably could have defied his mother in this, but after spending time with the Dark Lord, he didn't think that the man would have ever given up on having him as a follower…. Malfoy had told him with badly concealed jealously that the Dark Lord was uncharacteristically warm towards him. No, the Dark Lord would have gone to the end of the world just to have Severus by his side.

His mother took his silence to mean that he was done talking. She cleaned up their cups and left him to think knowing he wouldn't notice her there anyways. Eileen was more than happy with the turn their lives were taking - she could perform magic without fearing for her life now and her son would never know poverty again. He was bettering himself. Thank Merlin for this new rising Dark Lord, without him her son would never reach his full potential.


	4. Chapter 4

"Albus," an irate Minerva McGonagall said in the special tone of voice she reserved just for him and when he was "particularly knuckle headed" as she put it. As the years passed, she seemed to use it more and more; he doubted it had anything to do with the increasing amount of eccentric solutions he came up with. However, she sounded particularly irate this time, he didn't know whether to keep going (no, that was _not_ running away) or to stop and see what she wanted.

Like any sensible Wizard with one Minerva McGonagall out for their blood, he kept going.

That was a mistake.

" _ **Albus**_!"

He came to a stop, a surprised look on his face as he turned to look at her only to flinch at just _how_ angry she looked. He quickly schooled his features into a pleasant smile though, in an attempt to placate the inevitable tempest that would slam into him for ignoring her at first. Minerva was a formidable witch - she only needed to look down at you over her glasses to instill the fear of Morgan Le Fay into you. Good thing Albus was taller than her.

"Minerva, how can I help you?" He asked, folding his hands in front of him, ignoring the tickling of his silver-auburn beard on his hands; he was growing it out. It wasn't quite long enough to tuck in his belt, but it would get there.

"Dinnae tell me ye gave _Potter_ th' Heid Boy badge," she fired off, coming to a halt before him, eyes blazing, hands on her hips.

_"Oh dear,"_ he mused, _"her accent is flaring."_ Albus's smile widened marginally at that thought; Horace and Poppy had an ongoing bet to see how long he could go without coaxing Minerva's Scottish brogue – nine days this time. _"I guess Poppy wins again; Horace will have a fit. That's thrice in a row she's won!"_ he chuckled within the safety of his mind before answering, "I was just on my way to send it to him, in fact."

Her eyes fluttered shut, seeming to be praying for strength - probably to refrain from strangling him - before they snapped open, blazing. "He'd abuse th' power 'n' ye know it! Lupin or Snape wid be better suited fur th' part 'n' ye know that tae! Snape - bless him - _is th' top o' his year_ 'n' ye wouldnae be able tae find a kinder soul than Lupin! Potter is _neither_! He 'n' Black hae bin in 'n' oot o' detentions sin thay got 'ere, tormenting one student or another - usually Severus! 'n' that's whit ye want tae set an example fur th' whole school?!"

If it were anyone else, a patronizing smile of sorts would have wormed its way on to his face and he would've reached out to give them a pat on the shoulder. But he rather liked having all of his body parts where they belonged, thank you very much, so he kept his hands where they were. "I believe this will help him grow-"

"Och shut up ye auld goat!" Minerva shouted sharply, rather satisfied with the click of Albus's teeth as he snapped his mouth shut. "Potter is in mah Hoose, Ah hae bin teaching him his best subject fur th' bygane six years 'n' ah kin tell ye richt noo that kind o' power wid go _tae his bloody heid_! As Deputy Headmistress, Ah kin revoke his title o' Heid Boy 'n' gie it tae someone obviously mair deserving!" She leveled him with one of her more terrifying glares and growled, "Dinnae test me awn thi' Albus."

Godric's foot, she was serious! The amusement draining out of him, he licked his lips and started, "Minerva, see reason – do not interrupt! – Mr. Snape is not eligible for the position as he has been in detention just the same if not more than Mr. Potter has been. And as for Mr. Lupin, I do not wish to add more to his already overflowing plate." What little he said apparently did not satisfy her, and she was evidently too angry to even speak for it was a glare that persuaded him to further explain his reasonings. He cleared his throat, "To be a Head student, one must have top grades and be a _good_ and _kind_ person. Mr. Snape undoubtedly meets the first requirement, but alas, not the second. I fear he would bite the First Year's heads off at their knees if they so much as looked at him. And as I said before, I believe that making Mr. Lupin Head Boy would be asking too much of him – being a Prefect is all I have the heart to ask of him to do on top of his school work and his condition." He looked down at his Deputy Headmistress over his glasses and said solemnly, "Mr. Potter is the best choice here."

"Gie Snape a chance," Minerva started out. "Ah dinnae think there is hope fur Potter bein' responsible bit Snape could dae it, especially if Ah were tae sit him doon 'n' tell him a few things. Ye _know_ he would dae better than Prankster Potter."

Albus took a moment to appraise what she said (and had threatened) - he _did_ know that Mr. Snape was a better fit than Mr. Potter, and Mr. Lupin better than the both of them. However, he _really_ didn't want to put more pressure on the young werewolf and Mr. Snape... he feared Mr. Snape was falling for darker tendencies. That was not the role model he wanted for his students. Albus let out a weary sigh, shoulders stooping with it and his eyes falling flat. "Minerva, my dear, I shall be frank with you. Mr. Snape is _not_ who I wish our younger students to be looking up to. I would give a Slytherin Head Student status if I did not feel that they all belonged to Tom – and I am afraid I do... This has happened because of my meddling, after all." He let out another weary sigh and was completely unable to meet Minerva's piercing and accusatory gaze. The heat of her incensed magic pressing against him spoke volumes as to how angry the Scotswoman was as she hardly ever lost her iron hold on her composure.

"Tom is looking for the extraordinary to join him, especially those from his former house, and in an attempt to lessen the number of extraordinary students from Slytherin I have foolishly denied them the opportunities readily available to the rest of the school. But they are unlike Gryffindors who would not have even noticed they were being suppressed, Hufflepuffs would have taken it in stride and would have congratulated those who got their rightful positions, and Ravenclaws would have undoubtedly petitioned until I lifted the restrictions. I had forgotten that they are the House of Ambition and Cunning and in that lies my failings. They found other ways to shine and became more extraordinary than they would have if I had given them their due recognition. I inadvertently aided Tom when I was trying to hinder his progress.

"Upon realizing this I began keeping close tabs on the Slytherin students, looking for an opening I might be able to take to… persuade them to the Light but I could see none that wouldn't end up placing them in a perilous situation. The first years would be unable to defend themselves against the older years, the vast majority of which are already firmly of that persuasion. If I were to interfere now, I may cause the death of a student, Minerva, or end up pushing several who are on the fence over to Tom forever – Mr. Snape being one of them. I know he is a bitter angry boy but I… I have hope that there is still good within him. But I dread what the future may hold for him, he is the brightest student Hogwarts has nurtured in years, and I truly believe that making him Head Boy would only cement his place in Tom's ranks, if it hasn't already been." He closed his eyes in pain, not seeing Minerva deflate. He hardly noticed her hostile magic receeding. "In my crusade to save them from a life of servitude under Tom, I have made what was a noble and proud house full of bitter and resentful students, all of whom hate me and the rest of the school. They are eager for the attention they are worthy of, and Tom is only too happy to give it…. I am playing a dangerous game and wounding my students in the process."

"I… I understand, Headmaster." Albus's eyes flew open in shock, meeting her hard green eyes. "I cannae say tha' I agree wi' yer methods," she said sternly before softening once more. "But, I understand. I won't revoke Potter's badge should ye give it tae him. I _will_ sit him doon and have a talk wi' him. Tell him what's expected."

Albus's eyes were twinkling again, "I would expect no less from you, Minerva."

**{Path of the Damned}**

Things were quiet in the days leading up to the arrival of Severus's Hogwarts letter. Narcissa had sent him a request to accompany her to Diagon Alley the moment their letters arrived to get their things as Malfoy was tied up at the Ministry. He had, of course, agreed; he would have suggested it himself but she beat him to it. So now he was waiting for the ruddy owl to come fluttering up to his window. They were usually delivered 'round about now, en masse he assumed. He and Lily would always rush to the park as soon as they got their letter without planning it beforehand. They hadn't since Fifth year, though, and Severus was fine with that.

He was lying in bed, reading The Hobbit while his beat up record player softly played a compilation of his favorite songs by Johnny Cash – he made that record for himself, with the assistance of magic of course. Severus had little patience for Wizarding music, it was too loud for his taste and was almost always focused on frivolous matters such as how one might convince a hinkypunk to do an Irish jig. Muggles had many more genres of music, and were quite frankly better at composing pieces that had the ability to speak directly to the soul. Music was its own kind of magic, in Severus's opinion, and Wizards were the only ones who failed to grasp that. Even the Merpeople of the Black Lake knew that. Their songs could often be heard in the Slytherin Common room if one cared to listen hard enough.

Severus was forced to pull himself from Bilbo's adventures when he heard a tapping on his window. His eyes snapped up to see that it was an owl with a letter clutched in its beak, undoubtedly it was his Hogwarts letter. Even though it's arrival meant he could now spend the day with Narcissa, he was still annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of a particularly good part of his book. Never mind his low tolerance for owls - he bloody well hated them and wished the Wizarding World would figure out a better way to send letters. Maybe he could create a spell for that. He stored that thought away for later as he rose to let the owl in.

It hopped in and would hardly sit still long enough for Severus to pry his letter from it, much to his annoyance. When he finally did get his letter from it, another ruddy owl flew in. He glared at it as it settled in next to the overexcited Hogwarts owl, and it glared back. He moved to snatch the letter from it which led to his finger being nipped - rather hard too - and then with a wind charm snarled both birds were all but thrown squawking out of his room. He **hated** owls.

Severus sat down at his desk nursing his bleeding finger as he tore into the first letter, which was indeed from Hogwarts. It was the usual supply list of items he would need for the approaching year as well as his badge that he didn't pay much attention to. He knew the second paper that had been included would be the standard congratulatory letter on making Slytherin Prefect from his Head of House as well as expectations so he set it aside to look at the other letter he had been delivered.

It was an expensive and heavy cut of parchment that made the envelop, turning it over Severus saw that it was from E. M. L. Potions Company! Excitedly, he tore into it and read its contents voraciously, growing more excited with each sentence.

_Mr. Severus T. F. D. V. Snape,_

_We at E. M. L. Potions Co. have been monitoring your progress throughout your years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with incredible interest. It has been many years since we have come across a student with as much talent as you possess in the venerable art of Potions._

_If you are amendable, we would have you start your apprenticeship while still a student – not a full apprenticeship as it is your N.E.W.T.s year and those will always be your main concern. However, we are willing to create a schedule to fit you and your studies if you are willing. Perhaps you would be able to spare one weekend a month?_

_Please send your reply post haste. We eagerly await your decision._

_Potioneer Zeus E. Derby_

_Hogwarts, Hufflepuff Alumni_

_Head Potion-Brewer; Research Department; E. M. L. Potions Co._

_Recipient of the Merlin's Potioneers Award 1958, 1960, 1961_

He couldn't believe it. The most prestigious potions company in Europe wanted to apprentice him? Poor Sniveling Severus too-many-bloody-names Snape? He hadn't even taken his N.E.W.T.s yet! And they were willing to work around _his_ schedule?! Salazar's Tongue, this was a big opportunity, the likes of it would never fall into his lap again for as long as he lived. He suddenly felt as if his very bones were vibrating with excitement – something that he hadn't experienced in years. He rose abruptly from his chair, intending to go meet with Narcissa to share this _brilliant_ news with her when it hit him.

He had promised every one of his Hogsmeade weekends to the Dark Lord, which were once (sometimes twice) a month starting in October. Would be able to meet with the representative one weekend of each month? Would the Dark Lord even _approve_ of this? Did he need Dumbledore's approval to start an apprenticeship as a student?

Sinking onto his bed he let out a groan and dropped his head into his hands, the excitement seeping out of him. He had forgotten about Dumbledore. He would bet his Moontrimmer that the moment he stepped foot on Hogwarts Grounds the Headmaster would know that he was in league with the Dark Lord. He would further bet his best pair of boots that the Headmaster would be fully aware of how he would end up spending all of his Hogsmeade weekends. Despite the slightly barmy grandfather persona the headmaster projected, he knew him to be far from that – the old codger was aware of everything that went on in his castle. Severus wouldn't be surprised if he was called up to the Headmaster's office as soon as term started for a conversation that would be pure doublespeak. He couldn't _wait_.

He let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose – this had been such a lovely day. He probably wouldn't be able to be apprenticed to E. M. L. Potions Co. seeing as how the Dark Lord undoubtedly came first. Truthfully, he was deeply flattered that the Dark Lord had taken such an interest in him, but he didn't want the attention and the expectations that came with it. This was his N.E.W.T.s year and being a Prefect on top of the workload that was sure to rival Mt. Everest in height would only be made harder by giving up his Hogsmeade weekends to the Dark Lord – he couldn't reasonably give up yet another weekend and maintain his status as top student academically.

However, there was no telling what the Dark Lord would do to him if he refused an apprenticeship with E. M. L. Potions Co. so he would probably have to accept, after consulting him first of course. _"Merlin, the team is going to kill me,"_ he thought to himself suddenly with a sigh, but they really were the least of his worries just then. He stood from his bed while pushing the situation from his mind and grabbed the letters he had received; Narcissa was probably already waiting for him.

**{Path of the Damned}**

Narcissa was indeed waiting on Severus, in The White Wyvern of course – The Leaky Cauldron was… lacking by her standards. Not many frequented The White Wyvern given its location in Knockturn Alley, but that small fact never bothered her. It was a cozy little pub done simply but exquisitely. In other words, it was… perfect. She was tucked away in a corner with a cup of jasmine tea and small but thick book that covered the topic of animagus forms and what they might tell you about a person. Severus, for some reason, was hell bent on becoming one despite him struggling with Transfiguration. She wondered what he might end up being – she had no doubt that he would accomplish it, he was too bloody stubborn not to.

The fireplace whooshed green and her ridiculously tall and skinny friend stepped out of the flames with a ramrod straight back. She watched as his hand swiftly ghosted over his robes, erasing all traces of soot. _"Wandless_ _ **and**_ _silent casting?!"_ She hardly registered that he had spotted her with his piercing gaze and was walking towards her with that fluid gait of his, being far too flabbergasted at his nonchalant display of superior magic. She knew he was capable of both separately, but together? No wonder he was one of the Dark Lord's chosen.

It wasn't until he was seated in front of her that she snapped out of her thoughts, tucking them away for later. She closed her book and placed it on the table before her, while her perceptive eyes picked up on the slightly puckered look he had on his face. A smirk formed on her face as she asked in a voice laden with amusement, "My dear Severus, is that leaf still in your mouth? How long must you keep it in?"

He fixed her with a droll look before answering with a curled lip, "Of course, it has been but a week and I must hold it in for a month. Naturally, I shall obliterate the very next Mandrake I see."

Narcissa only just managed to withhold her laughter. Her eyes were twinkling with mirth as she said, "You don't have to become an animagus, you know."

He scoffed, "Of course I do, don't be ridiculous."

She let the topic go. "You were made Prefect again, I hope? I have been in constant fear that I would have to put up with one of the Lestrange twins on patrol for _weeks_ now – put my fears to rest and tell me you were made Prefect, Severus."

"I was," he answered shortly, an amused light dancing in his eyes at the dramatic sag of her shoulders at the news.

"Thank Nimue! I'm certain I would have hexed one of those buffoons into oblivion if I had to suffer their company every night."

Severus's amusement spread across his face, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "I also received another letter, one that presented both a dilemma and opportunity…."

"Oh?" her interest was piqued.

He took great delight in slowly removing the letter from the folds of his robes only to have it snatched from his hands by his impatient friend. He merely raised an eyebrow at her rare lack of decorum as she practically devoured the letter with her eyes.

She flicked her eyes up to his face and away from the expensive parchment, "This… is unheard of, Severus."

A smug smirk was planted firmly on his face, and he simply said, "I know."

Narcissa rolled her eyes and handed him the letter back, "I see the opportunity – one I firmly believe you should take – but I do not see the dilemma."

The smirk faded. He cast a surreptitious look around the small pub before turning his hard eyes back to her. He lowered his voice to near a whisper and said, "I have already promised my Hogsmeade weekends away, something that I doubt will escape the notice of the headmaster for long. I do not believe I will be able to give up another weekend and be able to maintain all of my duties and studies. There is also the matter of getting… _his_ approval for this."

He didn't need to elaborate just who " _he_ " was. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes that let him know she was thinking furiously. "I cannot see _him_ denying you this opportunity, Severus. It is one thing to be apprenticed while still in Hogwarts, and entirely another to have the most prestigious Potioneer company owling you and practically begging you to work with them." She paused a moment, a faraway look in her eyes, "We will consult Lucius on this matter later today – he wishes to meet us for lunch."

Severus gave a curt nod, "What time are we meeting him, and where?"

"12 of the clock at The Hopping Pot," at her friend's confused looked she elaborated, "On Carkitt Market dear, it's next to Concordia Plunkett Musical Instruments."

"I know where it is, Narcissa," he said with a touch of annoyance. " _Why_ did he choose that desolate pub of all places? I never would have thought Lucius would have set foot in there unless it was dire."

She merely shrugged her slim shoulders before picking up her cup of jasmine tea for a sip, "How long is your book list this year? I can't recall all of the mundane classes you're taking but I'm certain you will require at least four books to go with each of them."

"They aren't _mundane_ , Narcissa, they're _vital_. I am to be a Potioneer, I need all of these lessons-"

"Yes, yes, spare me the lecture, Professor Snape," Narcissa interrupted with a wave of her hand, tactfully ignoring the flash of annoyance in his eyes. "I asked to better judge how long the bookstore might take – you know how Lucius is about tardiness. It would not do for us to still be caught up with our books and him sitting and waiting on us. So, is your list shorter than my arm this time, or do we need to put the bookstore off until after lunch?"

He sniffed, "It is as long as my arm, we will go following lunch with your fiancé."

This time Narcissa let her laughter loose, a light lilting noise.

He rolled his eyes at her, albeit with a measure of fondness. "We should proceed with this most painful of days then, Narcissa – and don't you _dare_ try to fob yet another familiar onto me!"

The twinkle in her eyes suggested that she was planning on doing just that.


	5. Chapter 5

" _Her heart belongs to another,"_ Lucius Malfoy thought to himself as he studied his intended from across the table. _"Or at least she is on her way to giving it to whoever they are. I doubt she even knows it."_ He wondered who managed to steal her gaze away from him: the wealthy and devilishly handsome Lord Malfoy. No matter. Whoever they were, they were going to **die**. Lords might be allowed to take on mistresses or two, but Ladies were absolutely _not_. It could potentially contaminate the family line – an entirely unacceptable notion.

"What do you think, Lucius?" Narcissa asked, bringing him out of his murderous thoughts. Apparently, she had been speaking to him whilst he had been pondering the matters of the developing love triangle that would most likely end in one of their deaths. Preferably the unknown party's death over his or Narcissa's.

"What do I think of what, Cissy?" he asked smoothly, dabbing at his lips with the napkin.

She didn't dare roll her eyes at him as she would with Severus for not paying attention, even if he did shorten her name insultingly. "Do you think that _he_ will allow Snape to take on the apprenticeship? You weren't able to say much about it at lunch."

He paused, before saying coldly, "I do not presume to know what the Dark Lord may or may not allow as it is not my place." Lucius pierced her with a glare, letting her know that she was dangerously close to overstepping the line of what was acceptable for her to converse about. He maintained the glare until she looked away, "However, I would not be surprised if the Dark Lord allowed it."

Narcissa nodded, deciding that it would be safer to hold her tongue for now. Lucius could be kind when he wanted to, but the majority of the time he was… cruel. He had yet to raise his wand against her, but she feared it was only a matter of time before she was sampling his torture spells first hand. Narcissa very nearly sighed. He was better than Nott or Wilkes, both of which her father had been interviewing for her hand in marriage before Lucius came along. At least he would wait for their marriage to be official before he began the "reformations of her character."

"Were you able to get everything you needed with the money I provided?" He questioned.

Narcissa nodded again, "There was an additional 100 Galleons, Lucius. What do you wish me to do with it?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "You may do as you please with it. Severus received the same amount as you, but I advised him to use his excess to purchase a new wardrobe as it would be silly for him to continue wearing my robes."

"He certainly does need robes befitting a wizard of his place. The rags he's been forced into only serve to embarrass him and Slytherin." She said tactfully despite the fact that she had been overlooking the state of his robes for a while now.

"Quite right," he said, his face screwing into a look of mild disgust. Not another word was spoken between them except for when they bid each other good night and walked to different wings of the manor; she to her room to write Severus and he to his study to ponder what to do regarding the revelation he had made earlier.

He draped himself over the Victorian-esque lounge (emerald green, of course) and with a snap of his fingers he had a house-elf appear with a tumbler of Italian Vermouth Bianco. Now that he was resting comfortably with alcohol on hand, he could sufficiently plan what he was going to do. He would need to have a pair of eyes on her at all times – someone who could be discreet. Perhaps one of her female friends? No. They wouldn't be with her every moment of the day as none of them were in the upper levels like Cissy was. He was also of a mind that any female could be as discreet as a Fwooper. Male eyes were needed then, more than one pair of them. Obviously a Slytherin, and perhaps a Ravenclaw.

Severus was his first choice as he was the other Seventh Year Prefect for Slytherin, he also had many of the same classes as her. Not to mention the fact that he had better chances with a flobberworm than he did with Cissy, so he _definitely_ could not be the one who had stolen his betrothed's heart from him. He would send an owl to Severus on the morrow.

Now, to be upfront about what he wanted from the teen, or not? He did not doubt for a moment that Severus would conceal this from Cissy, he knew his place after all; this was more of a question of how much he wanted to annoy the teen. Lucius knew the owl would fluster the boy, and a letter with vague orders would cause further annoyance. It always was fun messing with Severus – he had the best reactions of anyone Lucius had ever met. However, he would not be there to witness Severus's tizzy so it would be a bit of a wasted effort.

With a sigh and one last pull from his tumbler, he finished his drink and stood and made his way over to his ornate desk. As he drafted his letter, his mind pondered the teen he had been working on recruiting for years now. He liked him as well as any Pureblood could like a half-blood, he _certainly_ liked him slightly more than any other half-blood he had met. Even so, they both held a dislike for one another – Lucius just hid it better. He had no idea what the younger held against him, and to be honest, he really didn't care. The boy was useful, and he knew his place. There weren't many like him.

Perhaps he would hand deliver it, to minimize the annoyance the teen would feel towards him. Yes, he'd do it when he saw Narcissa off to her last year of schooling at Hogwarts.

**{Path of the Damned}**

James let out a shaky breath, looking at his appearance in the full length mirror he had in his room. He had been in contact with Evans recently and today was The Day, with a capital 'D'. The Day that he _finally_ got to take her out for a meal. Granted, they were just making a patrolling schedule based off the list of Prefects they received with their letters of congratulations on making Head Students – thankfully it didn't give anyone's full name as he was certain he would've died of shame if Lily knew what his middle name was. He was, however, slightly curious what the C stood for in her name, and _very_ curious about what all of the letters in Snivellus's name were for. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud.

"What d'you think, Padfoot?" he asked, looking over at the boy who was his brother in all but name and blood.

Said boy looked up from his magazine of questionable content and raked his eyes over James's appearance. "Ye look a pouf," he drawled in his fading Scottish accent before returning to his mag. The Blacks were predominately from Scotland and took great pride in being one of The Honorable Five wizarding clans, but as Sirius had been living with the Potters instead of in the Highlands his Scottish brogue was slowly being replaced by Estuary English which the Potters used.

James rolled his eyes before he snatched the thing out of Sirius's hands, "Be serious mate, I'm going to lunch with Lily in 20 minutes."

"I _am_ Sirius! I dinnae know who ye think I keep pretending tae be, but I am most assuredly Sirius Orion Black. Hae bin since I popped oot o' the bitch's womb. Noo, can I have tha' back?"

James pinched the bridge of his nose at the over used joke and growled in warning, "Sirius…"

A peal of bark-like laughter rang through the room as Sirius stood up to walk around his (shorter) friend, stroking the stubble on his chin as if it were a full grown beard while his critical grey eyes actually took in the other boy's appearance. James did have a nice taste in clothes, but what he was wearing was a touch formal to just be meeting up with Evans for lunch. The half-Indian boy was wearing a deep maroon blazer accented with touches of gold in all the right places over a red and white checkered button down with navy blue pants.

"Where are ye two eatin' at? Cause ye'r decked oot for The Fountain o' Fair Fortune, but wid get some pure weird looks in The Hog's Heid, if you know what I mean," At James's blank look, Sirius said bluntly, "Ye'r overdressed mate."

"I want to make a good impression though! Like I am responsible enough to be Head Boy," James said, exasperated.

"Well, Prongs, Evans awready has a bonny firm opinion on ye that isnae likely to change because ye'r all dolled up. In fact, I think she might think that ye'r trying tae hard wi' this getup."

"Merlin's most soggy Y-fronts," he swore, storming off to his closet, leaving a bemused Sirius standing in the middle of the room. Five minutes later, he came back in this time in some faded and ripped jeans with a red and grey baseball tee on. "Is this better then?"

Sirius gave him two thumbs up and a cheeky smile, "Definitely Prongs. Go woo yer lady."

"Prat," James mumbled as he made his way out of the room again, this time heading for the foyer so he could disapparate to the Leaky Cauldron, which is where he would be meeting Lily. A quick pat of his pockets confirmed he had both his wand and his Head Boy letter so he spun on his heel, disappearing with a crack and reappearing with a similar crack in the dingy pub. His hazel eyes did a thorough sweep of the joint, trying to find the blazing red hair of the Head Girl but to no avail. He must've beat her there.

He spent too much time standing in the designated apparition square looking for Lily, because with a defining crack she appeared in his shirt. He blinked owlishly down at her and she up at him before they both blushed like mad. She quickly ducked out of his shirt with no small amount of embarrassment and a large amount of clumsiness. She somehow knocked his glasses off in the process and they both bent to retrieve the blasted things he was still adjusting to. Not only did they bump heads but they both grabbed the frames at the same time, their hands brushing in the process. They both froze for a minute, before she drew her hand back quickly; they both had a blush raging wildly on their faces.

" _Merlin, this is a disaster – and I haven't even opened my mouth yet!"_ James thought in despair and he jammed the bulky horn-rimmed glasses back on his face. He had been wearing them for nearly two years now and he **hated** them.

"We should probably move to avoid someone else ending up in our clothes," she suggested weakly, attempting to joke it off. Her blush clashed with her hair in a ridiculously adorable way.

A nervous laugh escaped James, his hand jumped up to the back of his head to ruffle his hair anxiously, "Yeah, right, we should. I'm sorry about that, I should've gotten out of the way – I was lookin' for you, you're usually everywhere early."

She winced slightly, "That was Snape's doing. He liked being 15 minutes early to everything."

An awkward silence fell over them.

They found a table in the middle of the pub and sat down at it, "I brought the list," James said, pulling it out of his pocket and putting it on the table.

"And I brought parchment. We should have Slytherins and Hufflepuffs patrol together and Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. We are up in towers after all, and they're down in the dungeons – makes sense and limits interactions between us in the other's territory too. I know that's when the majority of the tussles happened last year." Lily said as she began drawing tables for the patrolling schedules. "We have to make them for the whole year, yes? As well as trips on the Express, during Quidditch games, Hogsmeade trips and breaks?"

He nodded, "All we can do for now is make a schedule for the Express, we don't have everyone's schedule, and we don't know who will be staying over breaks or who is going to be playing Quidditch, not to mention all of the other clubs that meet in the afternoons."

"I hadn't thought of all that…" Lily trailed off, placing the end of her pen in her mouth to chew on it. "Why didn't McGonagall send us everyone's schedule at least?"

"'Cause that would make too much sense," James said with a little snort, trying his hardest to not stare as she moved the pen around in her mouth. "We'll just have to set up a meeting to get all of their schedules and then make a better schedule then."

It was her turn to nod, unaware of how her pen chewing habit was distracting her Head Student counterpart. She took it in hand again and began writing something on the parchment before she passed it over to him, asking, "What d'you think?" He read over it, slightly confused at her short hand. Apparently it was clear as day on his face he had no idea what he was looking at because she spoke up again with a shrug, "It's their initials – made it easier."

He nodded, an embarrassed blush creeping up his neck, _"Get it together Potter! Stop acting like a complete pillock!"_ He took another look at the parchment, this time with the list of names of Prefects to refer to. She had Gryffindors patrolling with Hufflepuffs at the front of the train and Slytherins working with Ravenclaws at the back and then had the different years rotating, starting with the Seventh Years patrolling for the first hour, then Fifth and Sixth years swapping every two hours until the last hour which the Seventh Years had.

"Why have the Seventh Years just patrol at the beginning and end?"

"Get the First years settled, and then ready to get off the train. And also so they could properly enjoy their last ride to Hogwarts on September 1st."

He nodded. As always, she made perfect sense. "You didn't need my help at all with this," he said sheepishly.

She shrugged, "I would've made a schedule for the entire year if you hadn't brought up the fact that we didn't get any of their timetables."

They lapsed into silence, both trying to think of something to say.

"How's your summer been?" he asked the same time she asked, "D'you have any pets?"

Both of their faces flamed with embarrassment again. "Ladies first," James said, gesturing for her to ask her question again.

"Do you have any pets?" Lily asked again, blushing further at the stupidity of her question. It _was_ her go to whenever she was trying to get to know anyone, but now it seemed a bit silly.

He grinned and said, "Loads. The Potters are known for their griffins but right now we just have two – Jacquelyn and Jabari. I don't spend much time with them, though. I rather prefer the company of our cat, Dawon – my mum named him after some Hindu legend, I never really paid much attention when she would explain the story to me. But Dawon, bless him, has got to be the sweetest cat in the world. That little bugger will actually climb you if you aren't paying attention to him," James trailed off with a laugh. "We also have some corgis - my dad named those, I think all after the Tutshill Tornados which is his favorite Quidditch team. D'you? Have any pets, I mean?"

Lily nodded with a grin, while he had been talking she had replaced the pen in her mouth and had been idly chewing on it. She spoke around it, "I've just got a dog, a border collie, her name is Sprocket. Da found her hiding under his car one day after work, it was raining something awful so it didn't take much convincing on his part to get her in the car. Once we got her dried and fed we couldn't get her to stay still, so Da came up with her name based off that."

"A dog person then?" He asked, letting his head rest on his hand.

She took a moment to answer, thinking it over first, "We've only ever had Sprocket for a pet, so I suppose. Why?"

James shrugged, "Just curious. I'm more of a cat person myself. How's your summer been, though?"

"Good," she said simply. "My sister, Petunia, has a boyfriend now so she's been less snarky than usual. Da has been busy as usual – he's an architect – and mum's just happy both of her daughters are home for the summer."

"You have a sister?" James asked, bewildered.

Lily nodded, "She's older," was all she said on the matter. "How has your summer been so far?"

"Brilliant," James said, a grin spreading across his face again. "Sirius has been living with us and we manage to convince Remus to come over every now and then. Peter, poor man, has been stuck at his home looking after his mum – she just recently took ill. We even offered to come over to his place for a visit but he waved us off."

"What is she ill with?" Lily asked, concern blossoming on her face.

He shrugged, "Pete wouldn't say, but I reckon it's bad if he's got to hang about all summer. I tried offering to have our family Healer take a look, but he wouldn't have any of it."

"Family Healer?"

"Yeah, loads of Pureblood families have their own personal Healer that works with them, kinda like Madam Pomfrey for Hogwarts. Peter is practically family so I know Healer Jacques wouldn't have an issue with checking out his mum." Worry made James frown. Peter had never been this evasive in his whole life, except for when he was trying to hide who he had a crush on from Sirius. Just what was going on?

**{Path of the Damned}**

"What… is it?" Severus asked, eyeing the mass of fur Narcissa was holding out to him with disdain, ignoring the flow of their fellow students around them.

"It's a kitten, my dear, and a very expensive one at that too, so please accept it," she said, amusement dancing across her features.

He looked around the "kitten" with a raised eyebrow. He asked while jabbing a slender finger at it for emphasis, " _This_ is a kitten?"

Narcissa chuckled, "Yes, Severus, _this_ is a kitten."

"It's a bloody tiger, Narcissa! Why are you holding it out to me – _I_ don't want it."

She sighed and retracted her arms, bringing the massive kitten close, eliciting a thundering purr from it as she scratched it behind it's ears. "Cassandra is of a noble breed, my dear. She is a Jevabaownn – the Norse cousin of the Kneazle – and hardly half grown."

" _Half grown!?_ " He shouted incredulously, giving the massive feline a wide eyed look. The students walking around the pair standing on the platform gave him a startled look; Severus hardly ever raised his voice.

Narcissa let loose a full belted laugh, and would have doubled over entirely if not for the large feline in her arms. She continued to laugh for a while, making Severus's perplexed look change to one of pure annoyance. When she calmed down, she wiped away her mirth induced tears and said in a voice heavily laden with amusement, "My dear Severus, I have never seen your feathers so ruffled."

By now he had his arms crossed over his chest and a thunderous look upon his face, "Are you quite finished?" He sneered.

"Not by half, my dear!"

With a sigh that was more of a growl, Severus closed his eyes and focused on breathing through his nose. "Dare I ask _why_ you decided to buy me this-massive feline?"

"Every wizard needs a familiar, darling, and you keep refusing an owl - I know how you hate them. Toads went out of fashion back in the 50's and you'd just use it in a potion anyways, so I got you the most imposing of them all," She said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

He glared at the feline who looked far from imposing hanging limply in Narcissa's arms, it's tail twitching back and forth, "A Horklump is more daunting than that cat, Narcissa."

"Hush you!"

Severus's sarcastic reply died on his tongue with the arrival of Lucius Malfoy over Narcissa's shoulder. "Severus, looking sour as ever," the Pureblood said just before he planted a kiss on his fiancée's cheek and asked with mild surprise when he saw the feline in her arms, "Whatever do you have, Cissy dear?"

"A gift, for our lonely friend Severus. He's never had a familiar so I took it upon myself to get him one – do you not think it appropriate? She comes with as just as many names as Severus has himself." Severus arched an eyebrow in question which prompted Narcissa to recite the Jevabaownn's name in full: "Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast."

Lucius spluttered, caught off guard, "Severus! You never told me you had four middle names!"

"I do," he answered curtly, hoping to avoid having to say his full bloody name, especially around so many people. He had more names than Dumbledore even!

"Well go on, tell me what it is!"

Bugger.

With a sigh, Severus raked a hand through his hair and said in the dullest voice possible, "Severus Tiberius Furius Draconis Verus Snape."

The blonde wizard's eyebrows were nearly in his hairline. "Your mother must have had a penchant for Romans, Severus."

He sniffed, "She does." That was a lie; he had Tobias to thank for his ridiculous amount of names, but he wasn't about to tell Malfoy of all people that.

"Are you going to accept Cassandra or not, Severus?" Narcissa asked. "I have her brother – Regalyan." And indeed she did, he just noticed the large feline sitting by her trunk, tail curled around it's paws.

He looked back up at her pleading face and felt his defenses crumbling. Even if she didn't have him wrapped around her finger, he wouldn't have dared to refuse with Malfoy standing over her shoulder, so he thrust out a hand and said gruffly, "Give her here then."

Narcissa's smile was absolutely radiant as she handed the Jevabaownn over to Severus who very nearly grunted as the heavy feline was deposited into his hand. Cassandra's purring was cut off as she looked into his eyes, taking his breath away. He hadn't noticed it before, but she had glittering multi-colored eyes, sans pupils. He felt as if he were being stripped to the bone as she continued to stare at him before she abruptly scrambled up his arm and draped herself across his thin shoulders and began purring once more.

"She likes you!" Narcissa said, still smiling.

"Brilliant," he deadpanned, utterly unsure what to make of the Jevabaownn around his neck.

**{Path of the Damned}**

Remus Lupin walked through the barrier for Platform 9¾, his lips instantly curving into a small smile as the scarlet Hogwarts Express came into his view. The dragon shaped smokestack was spewing both flames and smoke from its nostrils and maw, eagerly awaiting the seven-hour journey ahead of it and its passengers, who the majority of were amassed on the Platform chatting away happily. The engine and all five train cars gleamed proudly, as if it had been polished just for this occasion; this familiar sight made Remus's heart twist in the strangest way.

This was his last year before he and his friends were released out into the real world. This would be the last time he boarded the Hogwarts Express on September 1st of any year.

That was a bittersweet thought if there ever was one.

He was ready to move on, really and truly. He was excited to start the next chapter of his life, eager for what adventures lay in wait for him to go on. But he also wasn't. Hogwarts was his home. The first place he'd been accepted for what he was, and it would probably be the last. That dampened his thoughts of glorious adventures significantly. It was easy to forget what he was with the friends he had, and with the fleeting moments like this that gave him a taste of what a normal life was like. But he knew that's all they'd ever be - fleeting. He was a werewolf, and a gay one at that. He wasn't particularly keen on getting out there and attempting to hold down a job like all of the other werewolves. Only Merlin knew what other obstacles he'd face due to his preferences in partners.

A great bellowing shout of "MOONAE!" brought him out of his thoughts and alerted him to the fact that he'd been found by at least one of his friends. He began walking forwards, his customary easy-go-lucky smile settling onto his face and his tattered truck rolling behind him. He knew from the shout that it was Padfoot that found him, but he had yet to spot the taller teen in the mass of people milling about on the platform. He was halfway across the platform when he was nearly tackled to the ground by the over energetic Animagus who barreled into him, giving him a bear hug. "Moonae! Ye'r still skinny as ever!"

He chuckled and said, "Good to see you too, Padfoot. Where's Prongs?"

Sirius took great care in messing up Remus's sandy brown hair before he answered, "Over by his favorite bird, o' course, tryin' tae get ae click if ye know what I mean." The Scotsman said with an over exaggerated wink before continuing, "A manticore wouldn't be able tae chase him away, now tha' she's actually talkin' tae him."

"Lily is talking to James?!" Remus asked, astounded. She had never given him the time of day in all of their previous years at Hogwarts. "Merlin, he's never going to shut up about that."

"I know! They hud lunch th' other day, goin' over Heid Student business an' whit nae - he came back happier than I've ever seen him. Practically floatin' 'e was – I wouldn't be surprised if he's floatin' again. Y'know hoo his magic gets wi' Evans aboot." Sirius said as he brushed past a throng of fifth years all huddled up around Godric knows what.

Remus shook his head, still smiling, "I bet he's going to send me on another recon mission to gather all the juicy details from their next Lioness Night."

"Hoo is it ye get intae thae when a' the other blokes in Gryffindor get shot doon for even attempting to ask?" The aristocrat asked, a little annoyed. "Thay drag ye aff every Friday night, giggling as thay gang. Ah'd say ye'r th' oonly yin o' us who doesn't wantae be thare, 'n' yet ye git tae gang!"

Circe, it had been a while since Remus had to decipher what an annoyed Sirius was saying, just like with McGonagall, his brogue came out stronger when caught up in emotions. "Calm down Pads, you know why they drag me - and none of the other blokes - up there," Remus soothed, dragging his trunk on to the train with the help of Sirius.

"Aye, Ah know hoo come, but it isnae fair," he grumbled.

"I didn't ask for it any more than I asked to have my furry little problem once a month so shut it," Remus very nearly snapped, making his way to the Prefect car at the front of the train. Sirius was always a little insensitive, especially when girls were involved and he wasn't.

"Ah shite, Remus, ye know tha's not hoo I meant it. I'm a blitherin' divit and ye know it," Sirius scrambled to keep up with the werewolf's pace. "Hex me tae yer heart's content if that's what yoo'd like – go on."

Looking over his shoulder, Remus shook his head and said, "Calm down Padfoot, don't get your knickers in a twist, it's alright."

Hardly missing a beat, except to let out a relieved sigh, Sirius asked with an impish grin on his face, "What if I like havin' my knickers in a twist?"

"Oh for Merlin's– I don't want to know that, Sirius," Remus said, utterly exasperated. "Keep all of that information to yourself, please and thanks."

The other boy let out a peal of bark-like laughter and pounded on Remus's back, "I'll see ye back in the compartment once ye finish up wi' the prim and proper divits. Here, gi' me yer trunk."

"I happen to be one of those 'prim and proper divots' so watch it," the werewolf said with mock severity as he passed over his battered trunk to his girl crazy friend.

"Pish! Yoo're a marauder so 'at makes ye an uncultured divit first an' foremost."

"Moony? Uncultured? I don't think so," James said, coming up behind them and throwing his arms around their shoulders. "Now you, on the other hand, are about as uncultured as they come."

Sirius let out a dramatic gasp, his hand jumping up to clutch at his heart, "Prongs!"

"Yes, it's me, ya great tosser. Now, get yourself the hell outta the way so the cultured one and myself can get on with our swotty business – you're holding up the queue for Highbrow Car," the shorter boy said, a massive grin on his face.

"Indeed you are," a deadly soft voice said that made the three Gryffindors freeze. The voice then dropped to a whole new level of iciness and hissed, " _Move_."

They turned around as a collective and saw none other than their nemesis, Severus Snape, standing there with a gleam in his eye that the boys decided they very much did not like. He had a massive cat perched lazily on his shoulders, it was staring them down in much the same way that Snape was. Sirius's cousin, Narcissa Black, was on his arm and both were dressed impeccably. She was inspecting her nails and he and the cat (correction, _tiger_ ) were staring down at them coolly - all they could do was stare at them dumbly, far too shocked by Snape's sudden ability to practically _reek_ of danger.

"What is the holdup?!" another familiar voice shouted, making James drain of all his color.

"Oh Merlin," he groaned as Lily tried to push her way to the front, and she would have succeeded if not for the immovable Slytherins. She was reduced to peeking around Severus's elbow.

"Potter, Black, Lupin. Get the hell out of the way, you're literally holding up the entire train. Black, you can catch up with Remus and Potter later," Lily all but growled, and it would have been more threatening if she weren't standing behind Severus who was smirking evilly at the Marauders. The tallest of the three did his best to hightail it out of there but the Slytherins were particularly hard to get past, especially with Remus's trunk. When he was finally gone, the Prefects filed into their car, sitting by their Year mate and their Houses with Slytherin in the back left corner, Ravenclaw in the back right, Hufflepuff in the front left, and Gryffindor in the front right. James and Lily were standing up at the front waiting for the students to get settled and quiet down, the former suitably cowed.

"For those of you who haven't worked it out yet, James and I are Head Boy and Girl this year. We were only able to make a patrolling schedule for the train ride today as we did not receive your schedules for the year. We'll have to all meet up once term starts to hammer that out. But we've decided that it was in the best interest to mix things up a bit," as she finished, the prefects started whispering amongst themselves.

"You will not be patrolling with a member of your house this year," James added. "Slytherins will be working with the Hufflepuffs, from the dungeons to the third floor. Gryffindors with the Ravenclaws from the fourth to seventh floor."

Severus rolled his eyes at their idiocy, but held his tongue mainly because he wanted this meeting to be over as soon as possible so he could get out of the same room as the pompous git Potter. Also so he could read the letter Malfoy had slipped him as they shook hands goodbye. It was obviously not something he should read in the company of others, or Malfoy would not have been so surreptitious about it. This only served to double his curiosity. He hoped it was the Dark Lord's response to his inquiry on whether or not he would be allowed to intern with Master Derby; he had kept the man waiting for an answer long enough as it was. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord had been away on "business" for weeks now. What that "business" was, Severus did not want to know.

He returned his attention to Potter and Evans just in time to hear their dismissal. With a sneer in their direction, he stood abruptly, making Cassandra dig her claws in reflexively, and then swept from the compartment with Narcissa and the rest of the Slytherins directly behind him. In doing so, he missed the Head Boy staring after him, frowning in suspicion.


	6. Chapter 6

"Albus? Albus, my good man, are you there?" A vaguely familiar voice called from the fireplace. "Albus?!"

Albus rarely receive firecalls without prior warning, and never on the 1st of September. His curiosity piqued, the headmaster stood from his desk, marking his place in the book he was reading to pass the time before the students arrived, and walked over to the nook the fireplace was in. In the flames, he saw none other than the Potioneer Zeus Derby, "Zeus? Whatever do you need, my dear fellow?"

"Ah, Headmaster! Would you be so kind as to let me step through? I would like to speak to you about one of your students."

"One of my students…?" Albus murmured with a furrowed brow before he said, "Yes, yes, of course. Do come through."

Zeus's head disappeared momentarily before the flames whooshed green and he walked out of the massive fireplace, his hair a brilliant white despite him being decades younger than the headmaster; he recalled that the Hufflepuff Alumni had come to Hogwarts with his hair that way. "Albus, it's always good to see you!" He stuck out a hand which Albus accepted and gave a warm shake.

"Likewise," the headmaster said, smiling kindly. It wasn't often that a former student came back for a visit, much less one as distinguished – and no doubt as extremely busy – as Zeus. It was even less often that a former student visited wanting to talk about a current student unless they were the parent of said student. "Please, come this way, come sit. Would you like a cup of tea? Coffee? Pumpkin Juice?"

Zeus shook his head as he took a seat in a plush purple armchair, "I appreciate it, but no, thank you, Albus. I was wanting to talk to you about one Severus Snape. I sent him an offer to apprentice with the company - and specifically me - nearly a month ago but I have yet to receive a reply! He isn't already apprenticed to someone else, is he?"

Albus sat there in silence for a moment, stunned. Students were hardly ever apprenticed while still receiving their formal education as apprenticeships generally required the student to move in with the master. But if Zeus were serious about this – utterly serious….

"I am unaware of Mr. Snape holding an apprenticeship with anyone what with it being so unusual and all – you sent the letter a month ago, correct?" Zeus nodded the affirmative. Albus stroked his beard in a contemplative manner, "It is rather unlike Mr. Snape to take that long to do anything. Perhaps the letter did not make it to him?"

The former Hufflepuff shrugged, "It is a possibility, but the company owl I always use, Cecile, has yet to fail in delivering anything."

"I see…" the headmaster trailed off, puzzling over what Zeus had told him. "Shall I call him up to speak with you? The train will arrive shortly."

"Oh, I would very much like that, if it's no trouble," Zeus said, grinning broadly. "I must admit that I have wanted to meet young Severus since I saw what he scored on his Potions O.W.L. – I thought it impossible to make a perfect score! Horace must've had heart palpitations when he saw the score report," the former Hufflepuff chuckled, shaking his head at the fond memories he had of Hogwarts' Potion Master.

"I believe I recall Horace was all a dither over it," Albus said with a chuckle of his own, his eyes brightly twinkling. Here! Here was an opening! Under the tutelage of Zeus, young Severus would undoubtedly blossom as he should have during his years as a student at Hogwarts. The headmaster would do everything possible, absolutely  _anything_ , for his student to be able take this opportunity. Hopefully, Tom had yet to sink his hooks into the Slytherin, but if he had… well, with a bit of luck, Zeus should be able to disabuse young Severus of the notion that joining the Dark was his best option.

If Albus did nothing else, he would  _save_  this student he had so wronged. That he vowed.

The headmaster turned to his phoenix, a swan-sized bird that vaguely resembled a Hoatzin with crimson feathers and a golden tail as long as a peacock's, and said happily, "Fawkes, would you please bring a message to Mr. Snape? Tell him that his presence is required in my office at his earliest convenience – preferably before the Great Feast. Thank you, my old friend."

Fawkes's black eyes studied the headmaster intensely before a crooning noise escaped his golden beak and disappeared in a flash of flames. The regal bird would leave a single golden tail feather with Severus with the message magically contained in it. When Severus touched it, the message would appear etched in flames onto the feather and as soon as he finished reading it, the feather would combust, leaving no trace of the message or the feather.

**{Path of the Damned}**

Lily was stalking up and down the train (steering well clear of the Slytherins' car) despite it being past her assigned patrol time. She was annoyed with herself – namely her lack of courage. Seeing Snape confront the Marauders today was a chilling reminder of  _that day_ on Spinner's End. She had been haunted by flashes of heartless black eyes and thinly veiled threats delivered in icy whispers ever since. She'd even woken up once or twice, gasping and clawing at her hammering heart, utterly drenched in sweat. The suspicious glances she got from her parents during the day did nothing to help her frazzled nerves.

They had given her the third degree as soon as she stumbled through the front door and she knew they were far from satisfied with her vague answers but she couldn't bring herself to care. She'd been dancing around the subject of the looming war for years now, knowing they'd unenroll her from Hogwarts so fast her head would spin if they had any idea how bad things were getting.

In the following weeks, she had tried to write someone –  _anyone_  – about what she had witnessed, but she ended up burning all of them for fear of what Snape might do to her. He hadn't  _actually_  threatened her, but she was smart enough to read between the lines of his parting words –  _"Say one word of this to anyone, and you'll sorely regret it…"_ – and she didn't want to bring his wrath down upon her head.

" _Because hell hath no fury like Snape roused to vengeance,"_  she thought rather hollowly.

Lily couldn't get the image of him towering over her menacingly out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried, her mind would always drift back to him. To the way his wand appeared effortlessly in his hand, his magic flaring in anticipation and appearing to be the color of ripe blackberries to her Videns Magia eyes. Even in his father's cast offs, Snape could cut an imposing figure when he wanted to.

Her dreams – nightmares, really, but damn it her pride was already stinging enough from her inability to send a sodding letter – that had caused her to wake in the middle of the night had all featured that day. But Snape would be dressed in imposing black robes that had a slight iridescent sheen, rather like the scales of a Hebridean Black Dragon. His magic would roar around him and throughout his body, raging like a dark purple hurricane, eager to be used to inflict pain. He'd have an ugly sneer on his face and his eyes would be cutting – unforgiving. His wand would be emitting flaming sparks as he advanced on her. Lily was always rooted to the spot, unable to run, to plead, to scream….

She gave her head an annoyed little shake, folding her arms across her chest protectively.  _"Severus wouldn't hurt me, he_ _ **wouldn't**_ _."_

But she wasn't so sure of that anymore.

Lily was forced to push those thoughts from her mind as she stumbled slightly and her vision began to blur. She let out a frustrated huff, the potion she had in her eyes to keep her from being utterly overwhelmed by the magic all around her was wearing off. "Bugger and damn the stars," she muttered, quickly making her way back to her compartment with a steadying hand on the wall to her right. At this rate, what little she had left of the Veiling Drops would be used up before she even got to Hogwarts!

Moments later she could hardly make out the features of the people she passed, meaning she had seconds at most before the Veiling Drops wore off.  _"Bugger, bugger, bugger,_ _ **bugger**_ _– should've used extra, Evans, you know the Drops lose potency the older the batch is! Idiot."_

She made it to the door of her compartment just as her vision exploded – Merlin, everything was so  _bright_  – and she was ruthlessly bombarded by the sheer amount of magic around her. Lily crumbled to the floor, slapping both hands over her eyes with a hiss of pain. She hadn't experienced this level of exposure since her first year at Hogwarts.

Someone was talking to her, or near her, she couldn't tell. It was like she had a pound of cotton in each ear. She was  _definitely_ going Muggle if she couldn't figure out how to brew the Veiling Drops herself. Yes, running away and living as a Muggle sounded extraordinarily magnificent right then.

A hand came down on her shoulder – a hand filled with  _magic_  – giving it flaming pins and needles. A yelp escaped her and she tried to twist away but it made it worse. "Lily –oh for Merlin's sake– Lily! Here!" A voice broke through, the voice of her dear friend Alice Storgarth to be precise. She let one of her hands be torn away from her eyes and very nearly cried in relief as a familiar vial was shoved into it.

"Bless-you-bless-you-bless-you," Lily breathed out, straightening out enough to get five drops in each eye before hunching over again with a small whimper, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes.

Hands ( _"Alice,"_  she thought distantly) took the vial from her and guided her into the compartment, careful to keep a light touch this time, "Budge up!" Alice snapped at someone (probably Mary Macdonald) so Lily could lie down on one of the seats. Lily heard (most likely) Mary scramble out of the way and then she was on one of the squashy seats, face down.

It wasn't helping.

One hand clasped tightly over her eyes, she waved her other hand at the people in the compartment and gasped, "Get – get the cloth. Heavy black thing. Get it –  _Morgana's flaming tits_  – get it."

She heard more scrambling as the other three girls all jumped up to get her bag and after one of them summoned it ("Accio Lily's cloth!") it was shoved into her hand. She hastily tied it around her head and sighed in relief; the glare of everyone's magic had dimmed considerably, but she could still sense  _everything_  even remotely magic near her. She could deal with that though, it wasn't so bad. Annoying, yes. Uncomfortable, yes. But not unbearable.

The cloth she had just tied around her head was a blindfold of sorts that Severus had made for her, specifically for instances like this. It was seven layers thick, and he had woven the one spell that could ease a Videns Magia's condition into the fabric of each layer. Alone, the spell didn't do much to help her (Madam Pomfrey  _had_  told her she was the strongest Videns Magia to ever grace her Hospital Wing), hence the layers.

An average Videns Magia only had to cast the spell on their eyes once (sodding once!) and they could parade around in Diagon Alley all day without any trouble – Lily had no such luck.  _"I must've been doused in some sort of bad luck concoction right after I was born. The opposite of Felix Felicis – Maladroit Meade, or something like that."_

She only had half a pound of cotton in each ear now; her skin was buzzing like she was covered in hundreds of bees because of all the charms woven into the seat cushions beneath her, but she didn't care. She wasn't in pain anymore. "Have I ever told you three," she said, mumbling slightly since her face was pressed into the seat back, "how absolutely bloody wonderful you are?"

"A time or two," Alice said with a laugh.

"Could stand to hear it a little more often, Evans," Mary said, her voice light with mirth, Lily could practically  _see_  her flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Its not every day  _mere_  students like us get the chance to save the  _great_  and  _almighty_  Lily Calvin-oomph!" she was cut off by a cushion being thrown at her stomach.

"Stuff it, o wonderful friend of mine," Lily said, fighting a grin. "And take this opportunity to bask in my 'almighty' presence."

Mary spluttered at that, but soon joined the other girls in laughing.

When they calmed down, Pandora Wulfhart asked, "What happened, Lily?" Lily could imagine her sitting forward, her head tilted slightly to the right, and her blonde eyebrows crinkling in concern above her keen silvery eyes. Pandora was undoubtedly the "mom friend" of the group. She was always the first to notice if something was off with one of them and would heckle them into going to see Madam Pomfrey if it was needed. It was like she had a sixth sense or something, tuned into their wellbeings. And Lily never knew a day that Pandora  _didn't_  have some sort of snack on her, just in case someone was hungry.

"Oh, y'know, my potion wore off and I  _swear to Godric's left foot_  we all have a collapsed sun right about here," Lily pointed to a few inches below her sternum. She then groused, "Even the sodding train is magical."

Her three friends ignored the last comment, having heard it just about every time they rode the Express. "Why didn't you stock up? You've never run out like this before," Alice pointed out.

Lily visibly stilled, images of burning black eyes and raging dark purple magic flashed in her mind. Her friends didn't know that it was Snape who kept her supplied with Veiling Drops – or at least, she assumed it was him. After their falling out in Fifth Year vials of Veiling Drops would just… appear in her bag whenever she was beginning to run out. And since they were an invention of his, she sincerely doubted anyone else was brewing it. He had always been tight lipped about any creations of his, even with her.

"Lily?" Pandora asked when it became evident that she wasn't going to answer without further prompting.

"Uh… various reasons?" she offered weakly, knowing full well they'd end up dragging the real answer out of her before too long.

"And you're going to tell us each and every one of those reasons,  _aren't you_?" Mary said sweetly, making Lily groan.

She laid there, thinking for a moment before asking, "Can we talk about this after I've been to see Madam Pomfrey?"

"No-"

"Of course we can, Lily," Pandora said, interrupting Mary. "I'm sure none of us can imagine what you're going through right now. Any questions we have can wait,  _can't they_ , Mary?"

There was a short stretch of silence before Mary conceded, "Only if we get the full story."

Lily smiled, but it was strained ( _harsh black eyes – roaring dark purple magic_ ), "Of course."

**{Path of the Damned}**

At the front of the train, the Marauders were finally all reunited after a long summer. After the other three finished properly heckling James for making Head Boy (any owl delivered pranks did  _not_  count) they settled down – well, as much as they could settle down – and patiently awaited Remus to begin one of their traditions that had evolved from a prank. He and Peter had wanted to test Muggle pranks out on their entirely wizard raised friends and the two had been so enamored by it they demanded a repeat for the following year. Remus and Peter had been only too happy to comply.

"As you two know, we started this glorious tradition in this very compartment in the auspicious year of Nineteen-Seventy-Four with the Chinese finger trap mechanisms," Remus said pompously, grinning.

"I  _still_  say magic was involved in those things," James said, remembering how he and Sirius had been stuck together for the entire Start-of-Term Feast. And then how Madam Pomfrey of all people had trouble getting it off of them.

"Oh tosh," Remus laughed. "They're one hundred percent pure Muggle ingeniousness."

The two boys across from them rolled their eyes. Peter then spoke up, "And then we moved on to the snake in the can of salted peanuts."

"Scared th' shite oot of me, tha' did," Sirius remembered, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.

"I shall always cherish their shrieks, won't you Peter?"

"Forever and ever, Remus, forever and ever," the smallest of the four of them stated with mock gravitas.

They both received a conjured cushion to the face ("We do not  _shriek_!") but Remus continued, undaunted, "Now, we can't forget about the Saran wrap on the door, or the wondrous way both James and Sirius ran into it – by the way, good thinking putting them at different heights Pete, I would've just put up another one after one of them ran into it. It really is too bad that we didn't pictures of all of this," Remus lamented.

"Oh,  _I_  got pictures," Peter chortled, his eyes twinkling gleefully. "Lily and Mary  _really_  enjoyed their Christmas presents last year. I should show you the gushing letters I got back."

Before their cackling mousy friend could be attacked by the two glaring Purebloods across from them, Remus said hurriedly, "And now that brings us to this year's prank!" He clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "But first! Drinks! Peter, if you would do the honors?"

"Why of course, Moony mine," out of his coat pockets he pulled four aluminum cans of Sprite, and he handed one to each of the boys sitting in the compartment, their earlier annoyance forgotten.

"What… is this?" James asked, turning his can every which-a-way.

"A drink Prongs! Don't tell me you've never had one from a can before," Remus said, knowing full well that neither of the boys across from him had. Next to him, Peter opened his and took a swig but before the other two could try to copy him, Remus stopped them, "Wait a minute! You got to shake them first, it's how you activate the flavor."

Peter very nearly choked on what he had in his mouth, trying not to laugh, suddenly realizing why Remus asked him to bring the cans of soda. Instead, he nodded sagely and said, "That's right, I just happen to not like this flavor very much. Once you open it, though, you can't activate the flavor – haven't a clue why really. So you better shake them if you want the full experience."

The two unsuspecting Purebloods across from them merely nodded. It made sense to them. So they shook up their cans as hard as they could, figuring a light shake wouldn't get the job done. They failed to realize that Remus hadn't shaken his either. Together they copied Peter's movements from earlier and opened their cans, only to have the liquid within them explode in their faces.

The two Half-Bloods erupted in laughter at the sight of the bewildered looks on their two best friends. "Did… did we do it wrong Padfoot?" James asked.

"I dinnae think so, Prongs," Sirius said back.

This only caused the other two boys to laugh even harder.

**{Path of the Damned}**

"Save me a seat?" Severus asked as he helped Narcissa out of the horseless carriage. He linked her arm through his, knowing that she'd do it on her own anyways. Lately, she seemed incapable of walking anywhere with him unless she was attached to his arm, which was ridiculous since he knew hanging onto his arm had no impact on her ability to walk whatsoever. But it appeared to make her happy so he saw no reason to question it.

"Of course dear, you needn't have asked," she said with a small smile – Severus was such a gentleman. If one could get past his caustic demeanor and his status of a Half-Blood then they would find themselves with the perfect husband.

Narcissa blinked slowly, the only outward appearance of her shock at thinking such a statement.

Severus? A perfect husband? Being of a superior blood status as well as his best friend she hadn't thought of him in that light before, but it was almost too easy to see it now. Whoever managed to catch his stern eye would be lucky indeed – she was almost jealous of them,  _almost_.  _"I will have to approve of them first, of course. I'd be a poor friend if I sat back and let just_ _ **anybody**_ _waltz up. No, he will have the best, and I'll make sure of it."_

"The best" being someone of good stock, and a considerable level of intelligence – Severus  _didn't_  suffer fools easily. Those two criteria points threw out nearly everyone in the school. And the fact that none of them were even close to being worthy of her dear friend ruled out the rest of their classmates.

Perhaps someone abroad then?

No, she doubted that anyone anywhere would measure up to the standards she had for any spouse of Severus. That meant she would have to do some meddling to mold whoever he fancied into the perfect spouse. In other words, she had her work cut out for her, but she didn't mind. Severus deserved the best, and she would deliver it.

" _He'd do the same for me,"_ she thought, tightening her hold on his arm just a fraction in appreciation.  _"That being said, there's no telling what he'd do if he found out what Lucius is like.…"_

She shuddered slightly at the thought. Severus was ferociously protective of women, she suspected it had something to do with the environment he was raised in, but–

"Are you cold?" his voice broke through her thoughts.

Narcissa looked up and found him gazing down at her in concern, causing her heart to flutter in the most pleasant way, "No, I'm quite warm, thank you darling."

His dark eyes raked over her, seeming to assess the validity of her statement before he gave a sharp nod and looked away.

In lieu of returning to her mildly distressing thoughts, she asked, "Do you know how long this meeting of yours will last?"

"Not a clue," he replied, his voice rumbling in displeasure. He had been expecting to be called up to the Headmaster's office at some point this year, but he hadn't thought it would be so soon. Term hadn't officially started yet and he was already receiving garish summons via Phoenix.

Narcissa tutted at that but said nothing more on the matter. They made their way towards the striking castle in which they had spent the majority of the past six years, walking slightly apart from the excited throng of their fellow students. It was a breathtaking sight, despite how familiar they were with it. The numerous towers of all shapes and sizes, undeniably held together and upright by magic, shone like a beacon in the night; nearly every window emitted the soft glow of a candle to welcome the students home. The mountains that created the glen they were safely ensconced in made for a magnificent backdrop, especially since it was a cloudless night. The Forbidden Forest loomed to their right, towering and imperious, sprawling as far as the eye could see, and utterly  _alive_. From their current position, they were unable to see the Black Lake, but knew that the vast body of water would soon be within their sight, glittering and calm as always.

Before long, they were within the castle, the Entrance Hall a familiar sight with its high ceiling and brilliant torches hanging from the stone walls, illuminating the various portraits that proudly hung there. Narcissa fully expected to part ways with Severus there, but instead he continued on with her into the Great Hall, escorting her over to the Slytherin Table. There were a few students in the Great Hall, and nearly all of the Professors – they still had plenty of time before the First Years made it across the Lake.

He made sure she was seated comfortably before he swept from the Hall, weaving between the small clumps of chatting teens. For lack of anything better to do, Narcissa watched his retreating figure, idly noting that his new robes fit him extraordinarily well. He cut an impressive figure in them, even though they were just the drab black robes they were forced to wear any time they left their Common Rooms. Black suited him better than anyone she knew.

Regalyan was suddenly sitting at her side, headbutting her hand in a plea for affection. She was more than happy to comply, having not seen him since they left Hogsmeade Station; he and Cassandra had gone streaking off into the night as soon as they had disembarked from the train, making more than one person scream in fright as the massive felines hurtled by, knocking over at least one First Year. They, apparently, did not approve of trains.

He was purring as thunderously as his sister had on Platform 9¾ as Narcissa stroked the length of his body. This caused more than a few Slytherins to look at her familiar in alarm, having never heard a cat make such a loud noise. Their incredulity only increased when they took note of Regalyan's massive size.

"Narcissa…" said Bashemath Malbuz, the only other female Seventh Year Slytherin besides Narcissa herself. "That is not a Kneazle."

Narcissa scoffed, "I should hope not. Kneazles are rather ugly creatures, are they not?"

"Yes," Malbuz said, nodding slowly, obviously waiting for Narcissa to elaborate on what species Regalyan was. Narcissa knew this and had no intention of doing so, seeing it for the subtle power play that it was. She was Narcissa Carina Vivienne Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, fiancée of Lord Malfoy, she bowed to no student, especially not  _Malbuz._

Just as she thought the other girl wouldn't speak up, Malbuz asked, her voice sharp with annoyance at another one of her ploys to 'one-up' her dorm mate failing, "What is it, then?"

Narcissa smiled despite herself, "Regalyan is a Jevabaownn, a superior relative to the common Kneazle. I am surprised someone of your… caliber… has not heard of it before." Malbuz sniffed and then turned away from Narcissa, taking the insult in silence; she would bother her no more tonight.

Narcissa allowed herself a small smirk before returning all of her attentions to her feline, who had been purring loudly all the while.

Jevabaownns were indeed superior to the Kneazle, even though they were just as intelligent as their English cousins and had the same uncanny ability to identify suspicious and distrustful people. However, when it came to size and aggressiveness, the two breeds began to differ. Their breeders had worked exceptionally hard over the years to get them to be larger but less aggressive. Narcissa had been astonished at how docile the animals actually were, considering the rumors surrounding the breed.

It was said, only in the lowest of whispers, that the breeders had managed to splice the felines with some of the characteristics of an Antipodean Opaleye Dragon. It was obvious that they had succeeded in this  _highly_ illegal activity – both Regalyan and Cassandra had the eyes of the Antipodean Opaleye: multicolored and without pupils. They also had a smattering of small pearly scales on their lower legs, which would multiply and harden as the Jevabaownns matured. She supposed that their larger size could also come from this splicing, but she knew for a fact that they wouldn't reach the monstrous 40 feet of an adult Antipodean Opaleye.

The breeder who had sold her the two had assured her in a vague, roundabout way that the eyes and scales would be the only dragon-like traits that would manifest – he couldn't outright say it because that was as good as a confession, something the Aurors had been trying to get for years. The splicing of magical creatures had been outlawed hundreds of years ago, supposedly when an experiment got out of hand and resulted in the creation of the Quintaped, a man-eating, five-legged creature that lived on the unplottable Isle of Drear. A rather wise move, Narcissa thought, considering what a terror those monsters were. But Jevabaownn breeders had been careful when creating the felines, ensuring that there were no accidents, especially none as large as the Quintaped had been.

Several minutes after he left Narcissa at the Slytherin table, Severus was slowly making his way up the Marble Staircase Tower, searching for the Gargoyle Corridor one floor at a time. Hardly anything in Hogwarts stayed in the same place from year to year, but thankfully if one knew the castle well enough (like Severus did) it was easy to figure out where things had gone. For instance, the Headmaster's office was always at the end of the Gargoyle Corridor, no matter which floor it was on that year.

He was about to quit the third floor and begin searching the fourth floor when a cacophony of noise exploded behind him, coming from the hallway he had just left. Several voices were shouting in outrage and the telltale cackle of the castle's resident poltergeist told him that Peeves had just pulled some sort of mischief. Sighing to himself, Severus turned back to deal with whatever havoc had befallen the hallway and its occupants. Unlike the rest of the ghosts that inhabited Hogwarts, Peeves wasn't pearly white and transparent. He was a solid-looking little man with wickedly slanted, orange eyes, and black hair that was always stuffed under a bell-covered hat. He also always wore outlandish clothes, seeming to be in some sort of contest with the Headmaster for the title "Owner of the Worst Wardrobe."

As Severus rounded the corner, his instincts screamed at him to duck and he all but threw himself to the floor. A hot pink balloon sailed through the air where his head had just been, and landed with a splat against the floor a few paces behind him. Standing up, Severus looked with narrowed eyes at the mess behind him (it was undoubtedly Bubotuber pus) and then up at unruly poltergeist floating near the hallway ceiling. His arms were filled with several more brightly colored balloons, all filled with Merlin knows what.

"The Bloody Barron will hear about this, Peeves," Severus said calmly, taking out his wand he cordoned off the hallway in a sweeping motion for Filch to deal with later and to keep his idiotic peers out. He just  _knew_  someone would come bumbling through the hallway and touch the yellowish-green liquid out of curiosity, only to have their skin erupt in painful yellow boils. He'd make a pretty poor Prefect if he didn't at least  _try_  to protect foolish students from themselves.

Peeves blew a raspberry at Severus before he flew off with a whoop of glee, probably to terrorize another part of the castle, but that was someone else's problem now, he still had to find the Headmaster's office.

**{Path of the Damned}**

"You two go ahead, I gotta ask Pete something," James said, slinging an arm around the shortest of the four, an easy smile on his face.

Remus stopped suddenly, snapped to attention, saluted him, and shouted, "Aye, aye, your Head Boyness!" Without waiting for a response from James, he turned on his heel and goose stepped his way down the path, making more than a few people laugh at his antics.

"Oi!" Sirius exclaimed as he ran after the werewolf. "We discussed this! I was gonnae do tha'!"

The other two Marauders shared a look before cracking up, it wasn't often that Remus acted out as the obnoxious one. He had to beat Sirius to it, after all.

"What'd you want to ask, James?" Peter asked, relieved to finally be back at Hogwarts.

All of the joyfulness drained from him and his grip tightened on Peter's shoulder. "Pete, I want you to stay away from Snape as much as possible this year," James said with a seriousness that was rarely heard in his voice.

"Why?" Peter asked, confused by the shift in his friend's demeanor. "He's hardly ever been able to get the drop on us before."

James clenched his jaw, "Something's… different about him this year." He swept his gaze around them. He and his friends and been among the last few students to leave Hogsmeade Station since James had wanted to do a final sweep of the train, just to be sure everyone had gotten off. Despite this, there was still a good number of students walking around him and Peter, all making their way towards the castle but hardly any within earshot. However, something stopped him from voicing his suspicions aloud. If he kept them to himself, they wouldn't become cemented in reality, right? "Just promise me, Pete, that you'll steer clear of him if you aren't with someone else. Promise me Pete."

Peter was looking up at him in concern now, "I don't understand – what's changed, James? What happened?"

James sighed and dragged a hand down his face, "I don't know," he admitted quietly. "I don't know what happened, but something obviously has, and I don't want you anywhere near him. So please, promise me Pete that you'll avoid him."

"A-alright, James, I promise," Peter said, now even more confused. James was never this solemn. Before he could even question his friend further, the Head Boy broke into a huge grin and swept him into a hug; it looked like a huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

Together they walked into the Entrance Hall and James asked, "How's your mum holding up? Anything I can do to help?"

Ice jolted through Peter's veins, he said darkly, "I don't think anything can help her."

The smile slid off of James's face, "Pete, why didn't you write? You know that you're more than welcome to use my Family Healer, right? What's she sick with?"

"I know that, James, and I appreciate it… but I don't think a Healer is what she needs," he mumbled, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. The other half of their quartet caught sight of them, and called them over. Peter dashed off before James was able to question him further.

**{Path of the Damned}**

Severus eventually found it, on the fifth floor, it's position betrayed by a perpetually drunk portrait of a man with his equally drunk donkey and a certain door that cussed at anyone who made to open it without first complementing it. He could only shake his head at the oddities that Hogwarts held.

He made his way down the corridor, towards the largest gargoyle which guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's Tower. The thing was capable of speech, but it rarely spoke, apparently going for the silent guardian angle. Severus came to a stop in front of it and with a slightly distasteful look, he gave the password, "Exploding Bonbons." The gargoyle stepped to the side, revealing the circular moving staircase that would take him up to the door of the Headmaster's office.

He knocked on the wooden door, a cheerful "Enter!" had him pushing the door open. It had been a while since he had been in here – the last time being Fourth Year when he may or may not have transfigured Black's head into a screaming tea pot and each of Potter's arms into a ball and chain in retaliation to them launching him into the middle of the Great Lake.

He immediately took note of a man sitting in front of the Headmaster's desk – one with shockingly white hair despite his youthful face – and said, "My apologies, Headmaster, should I come back at another time…?"

"No, my dear boy, not at all," Albus said, smiling. "Please, come sit. Would you like coffee? Tea? Or perhaps Pumpkin Juice?"

"Ah, no. Thank you, Headmaster," Severus said, mildly confused as he sunk into a plush armchair, trying to maintain a stiff posture, but fighting a losing battle.

"Very well – I'm sure you're wondering why I summoned you this early in the semester?" A nod from Severus prompted Albus to continue, "Potioneer Zeus Derby here stopped by to see how you were, as you never replied to his offer from earlier this summer."

Severus blinked, his grip on the arm of the chair tightened imperceptibly; he hadn't been expecting this. He couldn't very well tell them  _why_  he had yet to reply, not if he wished to finish his last year of schooling. A viable excuse suddenly popped into his mind, "My father… died around the time I received the letter – you have my deepest apologies for not-"

"Nonsense boy!" Zeus interrupted him, his eyes wide in concern. "You need not apologize!  _I_ should be apologizing, for the poor timing of my letter! Circe, are you alright, lad? Holding up okay?"

Severus blinked again, unaccustomed to such attention, before giving a curt nod, "I am, thank you." Tobias's death had been no great loss, the drunk bastard that he had been. On the other hand, Severus was still unsure what to make of  _how_  he passed.

"You have my sincerest condolences, Severus," the Headmaster said, sorrow stretching across his wizened face. Severus merely dipped his head in acquiesce.

Before the silence could grow much heavier with awkwardness, Severus spoke, "I assume by your presence here, you still wish me to apprentice with you?"

Zeus nodded vigorously, "Oh yes! That is, if you feel up to it – losing a parent is… unbalancing to say the least. I would understand completely if you didn't wish to take this up."

"Mr. Derby, it would be an honor to work with you," Severus said sincerely. "And keeping busy… helps."

"Splendid, absolutely splendid!" Zeus exclaimed, clapping his hands together and grinning widely. "I must say Severus – may I call you that? Or would you prefer Mr. Snape?"

"Severus is fine," the teen said, feeling rather amused at how enthusiastic the man sitting next to him was.

"Wonderful! But I must say, Severus, that I have been positively  _itching_  to meet you since I saw your Potions O.W.L. score – a perfect score! Helga's thumb! I don't think that's been accomplished in – what would you say, Albus? One hundred years?"

"Longer, I think," the Headmaster said, smiling widely. "Young Severus is quite the credit to Hogwarts."

Severus shifted uncomfortably, he was decidedly  _not_  good at receiving praise, especially if it was coming from two jolly people. "I thank you," he said simply, dipping his head again. He asked, "If I may, how will this apprenticeship work while I am still a student here?"

Zeus waved him off, "We can discuss the particulars later, dear Severus, I have accomplished what I set out to do and I believe that the both of you have a Feast that you need to get to…?"

"Ah! You are correct!" Albus exclaimed, looking at the time from a pocket watch he pulled from one of the many folds of his robes. His bushy eyebrows shot up his forehead and he stood from his desk and swept around it, "Zeus, as always, it has been a pleasure. I would stay to give you a proper farewell, but young Severus and I are in dreadful danger of being late to the Great Feast! Come along, Mr. Snape, I know a shortcut or two that will spare us – and by us, I mean me – the worst of Professor McGonagall's fury."

"Of course, of course," Zeus said, smiling openly, eyes twinkling in mirth. Even Severus couldn't help the small twitch of his lips at the Headmaster's words as he stood to follow the mildly frenzied man – images of the Head of Gryffindor shouting at the Headmaster in the middle of the Great Hall came unbidden to his mind.

"An honor, Mr. Derby," Severus offered as he passed the Potioneer, shaking his hand as he went.

"The honor is all mine, I assure you," Zeus said, smiling still. He called after the student as he neared the door, "I shall owl you with a proposed schedule in the following week!"

Severus nodded and swept from office, hot on the Headmaster's heels.


End file.
